The tropical forests of Southeast Asia hold a higher proportion of globally threatened mammal, bird, reptile, and vascular plant species than any other region in the world. Today, many of these forests are devoid of wildlife because the land is riddled with homemade wire snares. This hunting technique is widespread, torturous, and affects common and Endangered species alike. Help stop this extinction crisis and bring diverse life back to Southeast Asia's forests.
In Southeast Asia, cheap homemade snares are the predominant hunting method used and are set both outside and within protected areas. The problem with snares is that they are indiscriminate, killing or injuring every animal that crosses them, from common civets to Endangered tigers and elephants. Hundreds of thousands of snares are removed from Southeast Asian forests annually. In Southern Cardamom National Park, snares removed by ranger patrols increased from 14,364 in 2010 to 27,714 in 2015.
Unless swift action is taken, some of the planet's most distinctive and imperiled wildlife will disappear forever. Since 2006, rangers have removed over 180,000 snares and have sent over 370 offenders to court, but the snaring crisis has not slowed. In order to prevent "empty forests," we need to expand our rangers' capacity and ability to stop the crisis. Funding from this project will allow rangers to remove more snares from the forest and prosecute more poachers.
The Cardamom landscape is the second-largest contiguous rainforest remaining in mainland Southeast Asia and is part of one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. And yet, the region's wildlife is disappearing at an alarming rate. By stopping snaring, one of the biggest drivers of extinction in the region, we will be able to prevent the wildlife of Southeast Asia from disappearing forever.