Columbia River sturgeon are poached for eggs that become high-priced caviar. Puget Sound shellfish are plundered and shipped to Asian markets.
From the Cascades to the Rockies, bear gall bladders, elk antlers and eagle feathers are illegally harvested and sold for hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the black market.
The phrase 鈥渨ildlife trafficking鈥� usually evokes visions of elephant tusks, tiger pelts and mounted trophy heads of animals killed in faraway places, then smuggled into the United States, Asia or Europe.
But traffickers and poachers are also robbing the United States of its own native fauna. Our investigation found that鈥檚 especially true in the wildlife-abundant region of the Pacific Northwest. Our team of reporters conducted hundreds of interviews, spent hours reviewing documents, and followed law enforcement as they worked their cases. They found that:
鈥� Poachers cruelly chase elk to the point of exhaustion and even death.
鈥� Enforcement officers lack the resources to fully police the illegal wildlife trade.
鈥� People are illegally harvesting and selling shellfish in back-alley deals. Detectives are on the case, trying to protect natural resources and public health.
鈥� Illegal overharvesting can drive a species to collapse.
鈥� The collapse of a species far away can fuel poaching close to home.
鈥� Even America鈥檚 national symbol is not immune from illegal profiteers.
鈥� Maintaining a healthy geoduck population is becoming more difficult. Demand is on the rise 鈥� and so is poaching 鈥� as an expanding Chinese middle class develops a taste for the world鈥檚 largest burrowing clams.
鈥� Scientists are applying new technology to detect the unique scents of endangered hardwood.
How poachers and black-market traffickers are plundering Northwest wildlife - explained in three videos:
Copyright 2015 Earthfix