Conservation Science Group, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Buckhurst Road, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7PY, U.K.
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, U.S.A.
Conserv Biol. 2019 Aug;33(4):906-916. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13277. Epub 2019 Mar 15.
Global demand for elephant ivory is contributing to illegal poaching and significant decline of African elephant (Loxondonta africana) populations. To help mitigate decline, countries with legal domestic ivory markets were recommended by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to close domestic markets for commercial trade. However, implementing stricter regulations on wildlife trade does not necessarily mean compliance with rules will follow. Using an online questionnaire, we examined the relationship between self-reported compliance with ivory trade regulations among 115 ivory traders in the United Kingdom and 4 dimensions (control, deterrence, legitimacy, and social norms) hypothesized to influence compliance with conservation regulations. Although most traders supported regulations, a large number did not always check that they comply with them when trading objects containing ivory. The main factors influencing compliance with ivory trade regulations were traders' ability to comply and their perceptions of the regulations and punishments to deter illegal trade. These findings demonstrate the utility of conservation criminology to improve wildlife trade regulations and identify opportunities to reduce illegal ivory entering the market in the United Kingdom. Compliance could be improved by clearer regulations that facilitate easier detection of illegal ivory products and stronger prosecution of violations.
全球对象牙的需求导致了非法偷猎和非洲象（Loxondonta africana）数量的显著减少。为了帮助减缓这种减少，濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约建议有合法国内象牙市场的国家关闭国内商业贸易象牙市场。然而，实施更严格的野生动植物贸易法规并不一定意味着会遵守规则。我们使用在线问卷，调查了英国 115 名象牙交易商自我报告的象牙交易法规遵守情况与假设影响遵守保护法规的 4 个维度（控制、威慑、合法性和社会规范）之间的关系。尽管大多数交易商支持法规，但当交易含有象牙的物品时，许多交易商并不总是检查自己是否遵守这些法规。影响象牙交易法规遵守情况的主要因素是交易商遵守法规的能力及其对法规和威慑非法交易的处罚的看法。这些发现表明，保护犯罪学可用于改善野生动植物贸易法规，并确定减少英国非法象牙进入市场的机会。可以通过更明确的法规来提高合规性，这些法规可以更方便地检测非法象牙制品，并加强对违规行为的起诉。
