Editing Poaching (section)

==Effects==
Defaunation of forests: predators, herbivores and fruit-eating vertebrates cannot recover as fast as they are removed from a forest; as their populations decline, the pattern of seed predation and dispersal is altered; tree species with large seeds progressively dominate a forest, while small-seeded plant species become locally extinct. 
The effective size of protected areas is reduced as poachers use the edges of these areas as open-access resources. 
Wildlife tourism destinations face a negative publicity; those holding a permit for wildlife-based land uses, tourism-based tour and lodging operators lose income; employment opportunities are reduced. 
Emergence of zoonotic diseases caused by transmission of highly variable retrovirus chains:

*Outbreaks of the Ebola virus in the Congo Basin and in Gabon in the 1990s have been associated with the butchering of apes and consumption of their meat.
*The outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong is attributed to contact with and consumption of meat from masked palm civets, raccoon dogs, Chinese ferret-badgers and other small carnivores available in southern Chinese wildlife markets.
*Bushmeat hunters in Central Africa infected with the Human T-lymphotropic virus were closely exposed to wild primates.
*Results of research on wild chimpanzees in Cameroon show that they are naturally infected with the simian foamy virus and constitute a reservoir of HIV-1, a precursor of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in humans.
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Animal Cruelty]]
[[Category:Eco Destroyer]]
[[Category:Polluters]]
[[Category:Criminals]]
[[Category:Villainous Event]]
[[Category:Thief]]
[[Category:Kidnapper]]
[[Category:Torturer]]
[[Category:Mutilators]]
[[Category:Murderer]]
[[Category:Destroyer of Innocence]]