Scan barcode
carmenrm's review
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
A book about a wildlife forensics laboratory? Sing me in! Unfortunately, little has been said about the laboratory itself. What I expected to find was its day-to-day life and the type of cases it works on. However, what I have found are three cases of trafficking of endangered species in which the laboratory intervened at some point in the investigation. It has seemed to me that his presence has remained in the background throughout the book and this has disappointed me a lot. The cases themselves develop all the research carried out from start to finish.
A fact that surprised me a lot is the end of each case. I expected that, in the case of the United States, the punishment would be considerably higher for this type of crime. However, they are very similar to those that can be found in Spanish legislation. And this has made me think long and hard about the place we give to the environment in our lives. Our future as a species depends on ecological balance, and yet we punish great harm to it with just a few months in prison and a small fine (just a fraction of what the profits might be). There is no re-education and the benefits far outweigh the losses, so there is no impediment to continue committing this type of crime.
It is difficult for me to evaluate the book because, although I have not found in it what I expected, when I finished it it has left me with feelings of rage and impotence and has made me reflect on a subject that I do not give the importance that I should. Likewise, the language was sometimes very dry and academic, emphasizing things that for me as a reader (and not as a researcher) did not contribute much or continually repeated things that had already been said but in another way.
I keep what it has taught me and everything that has made me reflect, as well as this sentence with which it concludes: “the victims of wildlife crimes are silent, but the wildlife forensics lab gives them a voice - one that grows stronger every day. Yet it’s up to us to sustain their ability to speak”
shawngray's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this read. Interesting to learn about an emerging field and specific cases.
More...