Building Poacher Alert : A Digital Anti-Poaching System

Poaching, which is the illegal capture and killing of wildlife, is a global phenomenon linked to organised crime. It feeds the illicit trade of wild animals and plants across borders, which is valued at USD 20 Billion. With hundreds of millions of wild animals and plants poached each year for use as pets, food, traditional medicine, ornaments and other products, our natural world is facing serious pressure and decline. 

One solution to reduce poaching is to improve the reporting of suspected incidents to relevant enforcement agencies. Many wildlife crimes currently go unreported by potential witnesses, allowing poachers to continue operating with impunity. Poacher Alert is an app we are building to allow witnesses of suspected poaching activities to report and log an incident. The data collected from the logs will help build a picture of the extent of the poaching problem, including potential hot-spot areas, and will be passed on to relevant enforcement agencies for action. 

To date, we have teamed up with anti-poaching bodies in the UK, and are designing the app in reflection of the needs identified. With funding, we will be able to build the app following consultations, and make it publicly available for UK users. With further funding, we will explore collaborations with national wildlife parks globally to implement digital anti-poaching systems.

Pangolins are the most poached animal in the world, with their meat and scales in huge demand.