The People Beyond the Poaching: Interviews with convicted offenders in South Africa
A summary of the findings from the interviews is published today in The People Beyond the Poaching: Interviews with convicted offenders in South Africa. Almost three-quarters of offenders had been imprisoned for rhino-related crimes, the remainder for abalone- and cycad-related offences. More than half of the offenders said they participated in the initial stages of the supply chain—specifically the poaching of the wildlife. Other activities included the transport, processing and storage, recruitment of others, and the sale of the wildlife commodity to buyers/intermediaries. Most offenders had low education levels and were either unemployed or informally employed prior to their involvement in crime. A variety of reasons led offenders to become involved in illegal wildlife trade, one frequent motivation being a desire to provide for their families given the lack of viable legal economic alternatives.
