Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking

Rachel Love Nuwer

Sep 2018 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Christina Delaine

About this audiobook

Our insatiable demand for animals-for jewelry, pets, medicine, meat, trophies, and fur-is driving a worldwide poaching epidemic, threatening the continued existence of countless species. Illegal wildlife trade now ranks among the largest contraband industries in the world, yet compared to drug, arms, or human trafficking, the wildlife crisis has received scant attention and support, leaving it up to passionate individuals fighting on the ground to try to ensure that elephants, tigers, rhinos, and more are still around for future generations. As Reefer Madness (Schlosser) took us into the drug market, or Susan Orlean descended into the swampy obsessions of The Orchid Thief, Nuwer-an award-winning science journalist with a background in ecology-takes listeners on a narrative journey to the front lines of the trade: to killing fields in Africa, traditional medicine black markets in China, and wild meat restaurants in Vietnam. Through exhaustive first-hand reporting that took her to ten countries, Nuwer explores the forces currently driving demand for animals and their parts; the toll that demand is extracting on species across the planet; and the conservationists, rangers, and activists who believe it is not too late to stop the impending extinctions.

Ratings and reviews

She has a good sense of humor and gives a lot of interesting anecdotes and insights, which can draw in a personal feel for these global and complex problems. The book was very focused on charismatic mammals. I was hoping for more information on other taxa, but still very good information.

About the author

Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning science journalist who regularly contributes to the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC Future and Scientific American, among others. She lives in New York.

Christina Delaine is a SOVAS Voice Arts Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator who has recorded over 100 audiobooks. She is also an Audie Award nominee. An accomplished stage and voice actor, Delaine has appeared on stages across the country and has voiced scores of commercials and video games.