Public domain, via World Wildlife Crime Report United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. This graph represents the breakdown of reptile skins that came from a farm or a wild or unknown source. Within these reptiles, they found that "many of the species appear to be traded in relatively well-managed markets, where there is a long history of sustainable breeding or where wild populations are abundant." However, their findings also indicated that other species "have been the object of inquiries in the past and feature prominently in the World WISE seizure database." They found that this particular share decreased from 63% between the years of 20 to 49% between the years of 20, which means that approximately 14 million wild-sources protected reptiles were traded over the course of nearly 10 years. They found that half of the 24 million, legal CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) listed reptile skins that were exported during 2005-2013 came from wild sources.
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Their findings indicate that assessing clear sources for illegally obtained reptile skins for the vast variety of available products is "difficult to discern." However, certain types of skin have stronger connections to criminally obtained material. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime address the use of animal skins in their World Wildlife Crime Report of 2016. This image represents the number of seized reptile skins on a global scale. Legal guidelines set and enforced by governments at both the local and national level, and set by international conventions, are crucial for the protection of alligators (and other reptiles) in the wild from poachers, along with the market flooding done by farmers. These issues are partnered with local and regional government policy surrounding illegal trade and protection of species.
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Therefore, those in the illegal trade may have more cover and are more likely to be able to blend in with the legal sellers. However, some believe that the introduction of an excess number of farmed alligators may increase wild hunting, due to the sudden increase of available sellers, the line between legal and illegal practices may not be clear to the buyer.
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In theory, alligator farming is supposed to flood the market with a surplus of the species, as to deter buyers from buying from poachers, as well as driving the price down so that poachers lose the incentive to hunt illegally. Many believe the repercussions of aquaculture may outweigh the benefits these repercussions include escapement, pollution of water systems, and cruelty concerns, along with the habitat loss of native alligator species in these areas that may arise from these practices.Īlligator, and other reptile, farming can have both positive and negative impacts on the species in question, along with the other agents involved, such as the farmers, local governments, fashion companies, and poachers. Both the practice of farming alligators for their skins and the effect of aquaculture is a controversial debate among conservationists and those concerned with animal cruelty. Farms such as these are considered aquaculture, a form of agriculture that is solely water-based.
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This practice is popular in the southern United States, where the climatic conditions and environment benefit the growth and livelihoods of alligators. The continued use of skins of these species, such as alligators and other reptiles in this way, has made way for the practice of alligator farming. This may allow room for future changes regarding the use of animal hides in fashion, depending on the market demand.
From being a practical measure, to the growth in popularity of these fabrics in the nineteenth century, the use of skins and furs in clothing and fashion is adaptable to the market standard. Although exotic skins in fashion have signified wealth and luxury for hundreds of years, the trend of fur and skins has changed over the years. The use of fur and skins now signifies wealth and is a popular fabric to use in high-fashion accessories, such as handbag, shoes, and belts. This new use of fur and skins has translated into modern times as a high fashion alternative to non-animal materials. Throughout the years this worry became non-existent to the general population, and those in the middle or upper class with more secure financial means raised the demand for luxury furs and skins. Along with this, the toughness and warmth the skins and furs provided the early wearers of these materials with the promise of warmth and durability. The use of fur and skins in clothing is a result of the want to use the whole animal, rather than waste part of it. Alligator and other reptile skins are some of the earliest worn pieces of clothing in history.