In the Shadowy World of Animal Poaching, There's a New Cop in Town

Many young Latina women live their lives in fear of gang violence. The Montgomery County Street Outreach Network rescues girls in danger and offers services to them in order to help them change their chances of success.

In El Salvador a nonprofit partners with employers to find jobs for gang members who want a way out of that life. It's a key component to helping people escape gang violence, although companies must work with churches and community groups to get the former gang members job training and to negotiate their separation with the gang leaders. They must also convince their fellow companies this is a viable solution, as well as their own employees, who will work with the former gang members.

Protected species of animals and plants are illegally sold online mainly due to buyers and sellers having no knowledge of laws or the consequences to the ecosystem. Enforcement Gaps Interface (EGI) is a software which uses machine learning to determine if the animal product is illegal or not.

When a people in Playa El Jobo, La Cruz realized that their beaches were home to sea turtle eggs, they took action to protect the species by joining together. What started as a neighborhood effort to patrol the beaches has now turned into a successful NGO that collects data for research purposes and teaches tourists, students and children how to become research assistants.

The gray wolf was on the Endangered Species list when they were first reintroduced to the West in 1995, and although they have made an impressive comeback, there is now a debate between ranchers and environmentalists about the best way to handle the influx of predators to their cattle. Ranchers like Joe Purdy in Montana have found a successful mix of nonlethal tactics to keep them at bay: patrol of the area during the hours of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., wildlife cameras, inviting campers to stay, building fences, and more.

Specialty dockets are used in some states to provide extensive follow-up and supervision to help juveniles end gang affiliations. The enhanced supervision usually includes a curfew, frequent unannounced home visits, regular courthouse meetings, and in depth mentoring. A federal grant recently made it possible for a Texas docket called Juveniles United Navigating Obstacles Successfully (JUNTOS) to also offer therapy services to at least 36 adolescents over 3 years. Gang re-entry data is scarce and there is a risk of focusing only on youth of color because the gang designation excludes white supremacy groups.

Local Ocean Conservation is in Watamu, Kenya has made approximately 21,000 turtle rescues and "treated more than 650 turtles in its rehabilitation center and clinic" since it's inception in 1997. The group responds to fishermen who have accidentally caught turtles in their nets and then remunerates the fishermen for their "time, effort, and phone calls." This incentive-based relationship combined with a ban on the international tortoiseshell trade has helped decrease the poaching of turles, and the group has now expanded their efforts to include more initiatives to protect the endangered species.

The nonprofit group Save Giraffes Now, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Northern Rangelands Trust, and local community members are working together to save the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe species. Rising lake levels and flooding have stranded the animals on its island, so they made a custom-built steel barge to relocate them to a protected wildlife reserve. It’s not easy to move giraffes, but so far they’ve successfully moved three out of nine of them.

Survivors of gangs and gun violence, April Roby-Bell, Terra Jenkins, and Larita Rice-Barnes work to support people in the community grieving loved ones lost due to gun violence. They have formed nonprofits like the Metro East Organizing Coalition, and churches like the Restoration Outreach Center and host rallies and help organize funerals for families in need.

The Blueprint for Peace is a community-driven gun violence prevention plan aimed to reduce gun violence and fatal shootings. The Blueprint works by creating partnerships within the community, from police officers and first responders to individuals and those working in public city offices to become educated on the importance of trauma-informed care.