Black Market: Inside The Endangered Species Trade In Asia

by Ben Davies, Jane Goodall (Foreword)

From the Russian Mafia in Siberia to freelance poachers in Thailand, Black Market is an unforgettable journey inside the grisly Endangered Species Trade, where unsanctioned global trafficking of rhino horn, tiger bone, ivory and rare birds has become a profitable industry for sophisticated organized crime networks and unscrupulous buyers around the world. Following in the footsteps of celebrity advocates Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and Angelina Jolie, Black Market exposes the unsettling truth about the cruel exploitation and bureaucratic indifference surrounding the multibillion-dollar underground industry that drives wildlife exploitation. Includes over 100 gripping black and white and color photographs with never-before-seen aspects of the illegal trade, up-close photojournalism uncovering illegal activities of poachers, traders and wildlife enforcement agencies, heroic tales of impassioned conservation efforts and the valiant individuals and organizations battling to save the world’s precious wildlife heritage.

Genres: Animals, Wildlife, Nature

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2005

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars doesn't really seem like enough for this book. It is so much more than a book about the animals of the black market. It is about a world where a rhino's horn can be worth more than five times its weight in gold. It is about thousand year old traditions that claim a glass of cobra's blood a day is good for the heart and bear bile will cure nearly anything. It is about how poor farmers, desperate to feed their families, resort to poaching for middlemen who pay the farmers little and then sell the product at least three times the price on the market. And more than anything, it is about the greed of the wealthy who are willing to pay $18,000 for a shawl in the US or Europe, $30,000 for a Komodo dragon, and $100 for a bowl of Shark Fin soup in Asia.

Even more powerful then the numbers are the stories of the people caught in the middle of the greed and ignorance. Patrick Brown's photographs are unforgettable. I only wish some of his own personal stories of the people he met while traveling were included as well, for my previous knowledge of those stories made his work even more powerful.

Since this book is a few years old, I would love to know updates of the trade and projects, and hope Davies continues to publish more. Until then, in the words of Jane Goodall, "on behalf of the animals, thank you" for this book.