Chapter 2
The Culture of Killing
We examine the history of the wildlife trade — the superstitions that underlie it and the cultural beliefs that keep it alive. We expose the vast profits made from trafficking wildlife, driven by low risk and the growing convergence of wildlife crime with other forms of organised crime.
Our journey takes us to southern Egypt, where we chronicle how an American archaeologist uncovered the world's oldest known zoo — a 5,000-year-old menagerie that reveals humanity's earliest relationship with wild animals, and the foundations of today's multi-billion-dollar wildlife tourism industry.
We explore the role of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and how new synthetic and herbal alternatives, paired with shifting attitudes, offer fresh hope for some of the world's most endangered species. And twenty years after first visiting the illegal bear farms of Vietnam, we return to the bear bile trade to investigate the remarkable progress made in shutting them down — and in changing the beliefs of a new generation.