The illegal wildlife trade of pangolins is a form of tragedy of commons. Such a dilemma occurs when individuals, driven by self interest, attempt to maximize their consumption of a common pool resource, ultimately destroying the resource for long-term use.
This is found in the pangolin wildlife trade, where the pangolins are the unrestricted ‘common pool resource’ that is over-exploited. Hunters and poachers are driven to hunt down as many pangolins as they can within the shortest amount of time possible, in order to increase their own immediate profits. Such consumption is not a problem when the human population is small and demand is relatively low in proportion to the number of pangolins in the wild. Unfortunately, today, pangolins are no longer able to reproduce as fast as we are capturing and killing them.
A pangolin killed and snared in a trap
Unsurprisingly, research has shown that although most participants in the wildlife trade are aware that the pangolin population is depleting at an alarming rate, they do not feel personally responsible for preventing pangolins from going extinct. Driven by the money pangolins can bring, the poachers rationalize that even if they stop hunting pangolins, others will continue to do so anyway and take their share of the profits.
Although there are governmental laws and regulations banning the trade of pangolins, they are not enforced to the degree that motivates these hunters to stop. Very often penalties and fines imposed-if they are imposed- amount to much less than what hunters can potentially earn from the illegal pangolin trade. A vegetable seller from Sumatra may earn twice what he makes in a month with the sale of a single pangolin. The limited supply and high demand for pangolins have made pangolin trade a very lucrative career, especially among the poor. It represents an accessible and attractive livelihood option that requires little to no entry requirements, and is able to provide immediate gratification in the form of short-term cash payments. To make matters worse, authorities appear ambivalent about animal trafficking, effectively giving anyone and everyone access to the pangolins. A quote in TIMES Magazine gives us an insight into how these ‘empty’ laws are viewed:
A longtime wildlife dealer in the Sumatran city of Bengkulu sums up the problems facing enforcement officers in the region: “We never have to worry about the police when transporting animals. Most don’t even know or care that it’s considered a crime,” he says with a laugh. “And the ones who do are already in the business and making money themselves.”
The monetary rewards involved in trafficking, coupled with the lax regulations and blatant corruption, combines to give players in the illegal wildlife trade more than enough incentive to continue hunting and exporting pangolins until they go extinct.