I think he was referring to the poor economic conditions of the poachers, and how they are pushed to this line of work. Not dissimilar to drug dealers in inner city USA.
This is definitely true, though many of the big-time poachers are foreigners. A key mechanism that's been shown to reduce poaching is to let the local people derive an economic gain from the animals without killing or maiming them. Like safaris or photo shoots, etc.