Wildlife Trade Monitoring and Welfare

The legal and illegal wildlife trade involves millions of individual animals experiencing suffering. CITES and national legislation provide frameworks that need stronger implementation.

Key Facts

The illegal wildlife trade is estimated at 23 billion dollars annually making it one of the largest criminal enterprises
Legal wildlife trade is far larger but also involves welfare concerns for shipped animals
CITES regulates international trade in over 38,000 species of plants and animals
Wildlife traffickers often transport animals in conditions that cause significant mortality
The COVID-19 pandemic drew attention to wildlife trade as a zoonotic disease risk

Welfare Considerations

Animals in the wildlife trade — both legal and illegal — experience welfare harms from capture, transport, and holding conditions. Capture stress causes acute physiological responses that can be fatal in sensitive species. Transport in cramped, dark containers without water or food for days causes severe suffering and high mortality. Even animals that survive reach buyers or confiscating authorities in compromised health. Legal wildlife trade in live animals for pets, entertainment, and research is subject to less welfare scrutiny than it should be given the documented mortality.

What You Can Do

Never purchase wild-caught animals from pet stores or informal markets
Report suspected wildlife trafficking to wildlife crime authorities
Support CITES implementation and enforcement funding
Donate to wildlife crime investigation organizations
Oppose weakening of wildlife trade regulations in trade agreements