Animal poaching is big business on an international scale.
In 2013 various reports estimated that illegal poaching was between a 17 billion and 20 billion dollar a year business in Africa. Poachers use AK-47's for protection, have employed helicopters and UAS technology to increase the trade. One elephant tusk is worth between 350-400 dollars on the international market with an estimated 100 elephants a month being killed for the ivory trade.
The Rhinoceros once numbered around 500,000. Now the western black rhino is listed as extinct due to poaching and all species of Rhino are affected by the poaching. As reported by the South African Department of Environmental affairs in 2014, poachers took 1215 rhinos and the number is increasing. Other African countries such as Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya are also feeling the affects of illegal poaching.
The Congo Basin is roughly 500 million acres and covers Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The endangered wildlife includes the forest elephants, the lowland and mountain gorillas. The commercial bushmeat trade which is about a million tons a year in the DRC. Across the basin, the hunting of monkeys and antelope are common targets. Elephants are poached for the ivory trade and the gorillas are poached for the meat.
The Soergel Foundation is raising funds for various conservation locations that need assistance with law enforcement hiring, trucks, airplanes/helicopters and technology that will decrease the threat of poaching and give alternatives to local populations for crops and sustainable programs for forest conservation.