95% of Poaching Goes Unpunished–Tell USFWS to Act Now

America’s wildlife is in crisis. Every year, countless animals are slaughtered illegally by poachers—robbing us of majestic megafauna, disrupting fragile ecosystems, and stealing a shared natural heritage that belongs to us all. These crimes don’t just harm animals; they rob our children and grandchildren of the chance to experience the wild places and creatures that make our nation extraordinary.

A new study has revealed the shocking scale of this crisis: more than 95% of poaching crimes go undetected or unpunished, draining an estimated $1.4 billion every year from conservation funding and wildlife management efforts. Poachers are getting away with murder—and the cost is borne by the rest of us.

Behind those numbers are real tragedies. Trophy elk, mule deer, and other big game are often killed and left to waste, their bodies abandoned in the field. These are individual lives, ended needlessly, impacting their families and larger populations.

Additionally, these animals represent years of conservation work and millions of dollars in investment from state wildlife agencies and communities. When poachers strike, they undo decades of progress and damage the trust that the public is continually being asked to place in fair and ethical wildlife management.

We cannot allow this crisis to continue unchecked. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has the power and responsibility to strengthen anti-poaching efforts across the country through its own enforcement actions and by helping states address this head-on. That means working with state wildlife agencies to get them to focus on this issue, providing new and consistent funding, and working with law enforcement officials to hold poachers accountable with real consequences.

Add your name to call on USFWS to:

1: Expand detection efforts by funding more wildlife officers, advanced surveillance, and covert operations.

2: Strengthen enforcement and penalties so that poaching big game is treated as a serious felony crime, with meaningful fines and equipment confiscation.

3: Boost funding for state and federal agencies to support patrols, prosecutions, and wildlife recovery efforts.

4: Promote public education to highlight the difference between legal hunting and poaching and enlist ethical hunters as allies in stopping wildlife crime.

Poaching is not a victimless crime. It needlessly robs those animals of their lives and each of us of our shared natural heritage; it undermines legal hunting; and it threatens the survival of imperiled species often targeted for perceived value. The ability to enjoy and appreciate wildlife belongs to all of us, and the federal government needs to hold states accountable for controlling poaching.

Add your name now to tell the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to take urgent action to address the wildlife poaching crisis that threatens the future of wildlife in our country.

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Source


Outdoor Life https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/study-wildlife-poaching-rates/