Poaching of Israeli wildlife by guest workers

Abstract

Movement of people from third- to first-world countries frequently brings with it different, and often opposing, approaches to wildlife. About 22,000 Thai workers are currently employed in Israel, mostly in agriculture. Most of these workers originate from the poor Isaan region in northeast Thailand, where the major source of income is from agriculture, supplemented by gathering and hunting of animals. In Israel, many of them engage in illegal hunting and gathering of wildlife. At least 28 species of mammals (including six domestic ones), 25 species of birds, seven species of reptiles, three species of amphibians and various species of fish, molluscs and other invertebrates have been found mainly in traps (chiefly noose traps) laid by Thai workers. Other methods of capture used by the workers include the use of hand-held catapults, netting, the collection of bird eggs, and the gathering of slow-moving vertebrates and invertebrates. These activities have a serious deleterious effect on the wildlife in Israel.