Study Shows Illegal Snake Trade in Indonesia Has the Potential To Be Sustainable

A recent investigation has discovered that a significant portion of the blood python trade in Indonesia is illegal and underreported.

The investigation found no persuasive evidence that the blood python harvesting in the area is sustainable.

Despite the fact that the species' harvest and trade are regulated by a quota system, misdeclared, underreported, and illicit trade continue to pose a severe threat to its long-term utilization.

Snake trade

(Photo : GUERCHOM NDEBO/AFP via Getty Images)

Snakes are among the many reptiles that are exported in significant quantities. They are usually trafficked for their skins, which are then utilized in premium leather items or kept as pets.

There are obvious indicators of misdeclared, underreported, or illegal commerce involving tens of thousands of people worldwide in the case of the blood python, which may grow to be up to 250 cm long, As per ScienceDaily.

According to Vincent Nijman, an anthropology professor at Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, the harvest and sale of some snake species, particularly those that are widespread and have a large reproductive output, can be sustainable.

Nijman says that assessing natural populations is the best way to measure sustainability. Another approach is to utilize slaughterhouse data to examine how particular metrics (number of snakes, size, males versus females) vary over time.

Several research groups have utilized this strategy to analyze the sustainability of blood python harvesting and trading in Indonesia.

The findings of these studies differ greatly, with some experts saying that the trade is sustainable and that populations are declining.

A major issue with these assessments is that, while they can detect changes in the number of blood pythons arriving at slaughterhouses, it is unclear whether this is due to changes in the wild population, changes in harvest areas, harvesting methods, or changes in the regulations that allow the harvest to take place, Nijman explains.

He set out to determine whether there is enough data to assess whether blood pythons are truly exploited sustainably in Indonesia, using publicly accessible information and hunting for indications of illicit trafficking.

Read more: Global Wildlife Trade Fueled by Income Inequality and other Social Injustice

Wildlife trade

Wildlife smuggling is a huge business. Wildlife and animal parts are smuggled by hazardous worldwide networks in the same way that illegal narcotics and weaponry are, as per WWF.

It is nearly hard to collect credible numbers for the value of the illicit wildlife trade due to its very nature. The wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC estimates that it is in the billions of dollars.

The poaching of elephants for ivory and tigers for their skins and bones are two well-known instances of illicit wildlife trafficking.

Many other species, from sea turtles to wood trees, are also overexploited. Not all wildlife commerce is prohibited.

Tens of thousands of species of wild plants and animals are trapped or taken from the wild and then sold legally as food, pets, decorative plants, leather, tourist souvenirs, and medicine.

When a growing share of wildlife commerce is illegal and unsustainable, it directly threatens the existence of many species in the wild.

Wildlife crime is a top issue for WWF since it is the single greatest direct threat to the survival of many of the world's most endangered species.

It ranks second only to habitat loss in terms of overall dangers to species survival.

Related article: Tough Laws 'Not Enough' to Stop Endangered Wildlife Trade