Widlife Crime: from Theory to Practice, an edited volume of 13 contributions from 26 authors across multiple continents, brings crime science and criminology to bear on the illegal exploitation of wildlife. The style is academic and introductory and the scope is broad, covering key criminological theories and social sciences methods while addressing diverse case studies across multiple species, geographies and stages of the illegal wildlife trade chain. Widlife Crime is thus an ideal primer for anyone not trained in criminology and interested in its application to biodiversity conservation. The book's strength is in its comprehensive demonstration of the relevance of criminology to understanding the illegal wildlife trade, making it useful for interested conservation biologists and wildlife scientists.
The first four chapters consider different theoretical lenses through which one may understand wildlife crime, and a discussion of how tensions among these approaches may be reconciled. Here, the reader is given concise but insightful overviews of environmental, conservation and green criminology (the latter is given the least attention), along with case study applications. The case study on the use of environmental criminology and situational crime prevention to understand and address illegal fishing is particularly well-written and instructive. The second section comprises six chapters that showcase empirical studies in wildlife crime, drawing attention to the different methods used, such as investigative journalism, participatory risk mapping, multisite ethnography and market research, among others. This gives the reader a useful sense of the transdisciplinary nature of the field. Unfortunately, only limited examples of integrating insights from these diverse methods and theories are provided, despite this being repeatedly advocated for in the book. Chapter 9 (Gore et al.) is a notable exception: the authors’ use of forest ecology and conservation biology, criminological routine activity theory, and multiple information sources (technological and human) to map rosewood harvest risks is inspiring and educative. Other topics in this section include a long-term interview study into the psychology and motivations of French Acadian game poachers in Louisiana, an analysis into the convergence of ivory and rhino horn trade with other forms of criminality, and a ‘how-to’ guide for overcoming logistical and ethical challenges associated with surveying people involved in wildlife trafficking.
The third and final section seeks to foreground the perspectives of practitioners involved in addressing wildlife crime, thereby giving them a voice in academic circles. Chapters cover, respectively, the well-being of wildlife rangers globally, the real-world story of a team implementing technology to protect rhinoceroses in Kenya, and a conceptual overview of a transdisciplinary approach to wildlife crime that aims to close the knowing–doing gap amongst researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders. Although such perspectives are interesting and essential to the general conservation discourse, these chapters are not as seamlessly integrated into the broader volume as the preceding chapters. Sound reasons for promoting practitioner-driven research are briefly provided in the final section, but no clear link is made between the practitioners’ insights presented and academic research. The book would be improved if barriers, opportunities and ways forward for incorporating these sorts of insights into future research were given novel attention.
The book has a number of strengths, the most significant being the provision of a comprehensive introduction to how criminological theory and methods can be applied to illegal wildlife trade. It will therefore be a useful reference text for undergraduate teaching or graduate self-study. Excellent case studies illustrate theories, demonstrate the use of criminological methods, and show the significance of understanding the practical environment in which wildlife crime interventions are implemented. This will prove useful to anyone seeking an introduction to wildlife crime research. The book also contains much interesting and engaging material. Whether it is convergence of abalone and rhino horn trade, Louisiana game ‘outlaws’ getting excited about outwitting game wardens, reconsidering wildlife trade networks as enterprises that mimic legitimate business corporations, or the conflation of wildlife tourism and trade in Peru, the book is full of much material that will be new and even surprising to most readers.
The volume does, however, have a number of notable limitations. It lacks continuity and integration: the various contributions do not build on or complement each other clearly, it is difficult to detect any overarching key messages, and there are few compelling arguments carried through the book, nor a conclusion chapter. This means that this volume is unlikely to be considered a novel advancement in the field, but rather a consolidation of current theories and methods. More experienced readers will be disappointed if they are looking for empirical research with novel findings and rigorous methods. The use of evidence to draw conclusions is at times tenuous, with broad generalizations made from limited data (particularly in chapter 9). Minor concerns include a methodological focus that is squarely within the qualitative social sciences, with very little treatment of quantitative methods or natural science, which would have been desirable in a comprehensive volume. Although the book demonstrates the use of a variety of methods, it does not equip or train the reader to carry out similar research. Lastly—and somewhat amusingly—the book's subtitle From Theory to Practice might lead some unwitting readers to expect guidance on how to turn their theories about wildlife crime into action.
Overall, I would recommend this book as an introduction to students, researchers and teachers interested in an overview of the application of criminological research to the illegal wildlife trade.
