Wildlife Trade

Wildlife Crime: The Welfare Cost of Illegal Trade

Wildlife crime — encompassing trafficking, poaching, and illegal trade — causes enormous suffering to individual animals and threatens species survival. Effective enforcement is both a conservation and welfare priority.

Key Facts

Wildlife crime is estimated to generate USD 23 billion annually — the fourth largest criminal sector globally
CITES regulates international trade in over 38,000 species of plants and animals
Tigers, rhinos, elephants, and pangolins face particularly severe poaching pressure
Criminal networks use the same routes as drug and human trafficking
Corruption in enforcement agencies is a major barrier to effective prosecution

Welfare Considerations

Poaching involves violent killing — snares cause prolonged injury, shooting is often imprecise causing wounding and slow death. Live capture for the pet trade involves extreme handling stress, inadequate conditions during transport, and high mortality before reaching buyers. Wildlife crime inflicts massive suffering on individual animals alongside the population-level conservation harm.

What You Can Do

Report suspected wildlife trafficking to TRAFFIC, WWF Wildlife Crime Technology Project, or national agencies
Support Operation Charm and similar police operations targeting illegal wildlife product markets
Never purchase wildlife products of uncertain provenance
Donate to Wildlife Conservation Society anti-poaching programs in Africa and Asia