Illegal wildlife trade can threaten biodiversity and economic development. Criminal enterprises may add wildlife products to their list of illicit goods by using established trade routes, networks, and individuals. On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, killing of sea turtles and removal of their eggs is commonplace. However, beyond conservation NGOs reporting evidence of illegal take, little is known about this activity. Through semi-structured interviews with law enforcement, community members, NGOs, and illegal harvesters, alongside anecdotal information and observations, we aimed to understand the motivations for illegal take. To cross-reference these findings, we assessed sensitivities surrounding illegal harvesting by asking the general public sensitive questions using the randomized response technique; a method used to elicit sensitive information whilst insuring the anonymity of respondents. We included a questionnaire to establish if differences in demographics affected the probability respondents would admit to a turtle-related crime. Our findings identified a rare example of illegal extraction of a wildlife product driven by motivations that were not exclusively livelihood based. We found the majority of illegal take was undertaken by relatively few individuals, dependent on narcotics. The most cited reason for illegal take was that turtle eggs could be used to procure drugs. Law enforcement was under resourced, and informants reported that prosecutions were rare. Local people preferred to purchase rather than harvest eggs suggesting the trade is supply-driven. Those interviewed did not generally regard the subject of illegal harvest as sensitive. Low education levels, high unemployment rates, and marginalization of certain groups may increase susceptibility to narcotics. Although substance misuse and addiction appear to drive illegal trade, associated poverty and marginalization may explain why drug dependency is so prevalent in Caribbean Costa Rica. Increased work opportunities and drug rehabilitation programs may assist in reducing illegal take of turtle eggs on nesting beaches.

The post Motivations and sensitivities surrounding the illegal trade of sea turtles in Costa Rica first appeared on Ecology & Society.

非法野生动物贸易可能威胁生物多样性和经济发展。犯罪企业可能利用既定的贸易路线、网络和个人将野生动物产品添加到其非法商品清单中。在哥斯达黎加的加勒比海沿岸，捕杀海龟并取出海龟蛋的现象司空见惯。然而，除了保护非政府组织报告非法捕捞的证据外，人们对这一活动知之甚少。通过对执法部门、社区成员、非政府组织和非法采伐者的半结构化访谈，以及轶事信息和观察，我们旨在了解非法采伐的动机。为了交叉参考这些发现，我们通过使用随机回答技术向公众询问敏感问题来评估非法采伐的敏感性；一种用于获取敏感信息同时确保受访者匿名的方法。我们纳入了一份调查问卷，以确定人口统计差异是否会影响受访者承认与海龟相关的犯罪的概率。我们的调查结果发现了一个罕见的非法提取野生动物产品的例子，其动机不仅仅是出于生计。我们发现，大多数非法走私都是由相对少数的个人实施的，他们依赖毒品。非法获取最多的原因是海龟蛋可用于采购毒品。执法部门资源不足，据线人报告，起诉的情况很少见。当地人更喜欢购买而不是收获鸡蛋，这表明贸易是供应驱动的。受访者普遍认为非法采伐问题并不敏感。教育水平低、失业率高以及某些群体的边缘化可能会增加对毒品的敏感性。尽管药物滥用和成瘾似乎推动了非法贸易，但相关的贫困和边缘化可能解释了为什么毒品依赖在加勒比海的哥斯达黎加如此普遍。增加工作机会和戒毒康复计划可能有助于减少在筑巢海滩上非法获取海龟蛋的情况。

围绕哥斯达黎加海龟非法贸易的动机和敏感性的帖子首次出现在《生态与社会》上。