Editor 's note : The staff at CNN.com has been intrigued by the journalism of VICE , an independent media company and Web site based in Brooklyn , New York . The reports , which are produced solely by VICE , reflect a very transparent approach to journalism , where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process . We believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers . Brooklyn , New York ( VICE ) -- Two men stand in the yard of a Nepalese jail , facing the camera . One looks straight into the lens while the other looks away . They are on trial for poaching and could be sharing a cell for the next 20 years if convicted . Patrick Brown takes their picture . Brown and Ben Davies have been documenting the illegal trade of endangered animals in Asia for more than ten years , covering its dealers , stockpiles , trafficking routes and markets . They knows that poachers are but a small part of a much bigger contraband industry that is centuries old . `` A poacher who kills a rhino and removes its horn in India gets $ 350 , '' Brown explains . `` By the time it reaches Hong Kong , the horn is worth about $ 95,600 per killogram . '' Money fuels illegal animal trade , as it does any other form of smuggling , but the demand and value of these animals is built upon false beliefs and superstition . Rhino horns have no medicinal purpose , but myths about their effect on health and potency have pushed their value to more than five times the price of gold in black markets . Animal trade thrives on novelty and on the belief that exotic animals exude certain powers . More and more people are becoming aware of the myths , but sellers are also adapting . As Patrick Brown explains , porous rhino horns are now often soaked in Viagra before they reach the market . See the rest of Picture Perfect : Patrick Brown at VICE.COM . The exact size of that market is impossible to figure out , but experts estimate that its value is somewhere in the hundreds of millions of dollars . Legal global wildlife trade has doubled since the 1990s , and the evidence is nothing short of disheartening : more than 100 million sharks are killed each year , elephants have evolved to have shorter tusks because of poaching , and there are more Bengalese tigers in Texas than in the bay of Bengal . The trade pandemic is only made worse by the shortage of animal specialists at checkpoints . `` The problem seems insurmountable , '' Patrick Brown said , `` but one way of curbing rampant killing is to educate future generations . '' Brown does not think of himself as an animal activist , but rather talks about exposing a subculture of society and documenting the story of what happens to these animals . He hopes his work will raise public and political awareness about this issue and has said that his ultimate goal is to educate the developing world . Brown and Davies ' decade-long project will culminate with the publication of `` Trading to Extinction '' later this year . The book was made possible by the crowd-funding site Emphas.is and will include an introduction by journalist Ben Davies .
Photographer Patrick Brown documents the illegal trade of endangered animals in Asia . Money fuels the trade , but Brown says demand , value of the animals built on superstition . Brown hopes his work will raise awareness about the issue and educate the world .