A Blow to Tourism Means a Blow to Conservation

The pandemic has had a catastrophic effect on African nations on many levels. As vaccine equality debates and larger political concerns escalate, significant challenges on the ground are escalating, too, related to containing poaching and the illegal animal trade. Simply put, when Covid curtails tourism, jobs disappear and the poaching of wildlife for profit accelerates. Due to the lucrative nature of the trade, poaching for everything from rhino tusks and pangolin to simple bushmeat has always existed, but it is accelerating at an alarming rate.

SOURCE: SKIFT