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While voodoo may mean different things to different people, it means only one thing - death - to the animals used in voodoo rituals. Across Africa, at least 354 bird species are persecuted for rapidly growing international markets to supply wildlife for belief-based treatments in voodoo and related practices. In Bénin, West Africa, although ~50% of the population identifies as Christian, voodoo is recognized by the government as a national religion. Voodoo markets include both live animals offered for use in ritual sacrifice as well as animal carcasses and body parts.

In the decade following possibly one of the worst poaching incidents in Southern Africa, which left at least 300 dead after poachers laced watering holes and salt licks with cyanide, crimes against wildlife have drastically declined in Zimbabwe's largest national park. Investigations conducted by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) revealed that the deaths were due to cyanide poisoning. The horrendous crime, which made international headlines in 2013, led to the deaths of an estimated 300 elephants and is believed to…

In the war on poaching, some of the best defenders have four legs. Trained canines are used in some of South Africa's national parks to detect wildlife contraband like rhino horns, pangolin scales, and ivory at airports and roadblocks. Other dogs are trained to track and apprehend poachers in the field. According to Save the Rhino, 9,885 rhinos have been lost to poaching in the last decade. But Carl Thornton, founder and director of Pit-Track K9 Conservation and Anti-Poaching Unit, says the numbers are likely much higher.