Wildlife Crime and Animal Welfare: Trafficking and Its Consequences

Wildlife trafficking is a global crisis causing enormous suffering, with millions of animals captured, transported in cruel conditions, and sold into lives of deprivation or death.

Key Facts

Wildlife trafficking is the fourth largest criminal industry globally, valued at $23 billion annually
Live animals in transit experience mortality rates of 50-80% from dehydration, suffocation, and stress
Over 1 million animals are estimated to be involved in illegal wildlife trade each year
Seizures reveal animals in extreme conditions — stuffed into suitcases, taped into luggage, packed into tiny containers
Trafficking drives populations of targeted species toward extinction while generating enormous suffering for captured individuals
Demand reduction in consumer markets for wildlife products is more effective than enforcement alone at reducing trafficking

Welfare Considerations

Wildlife trafficking inflicts suffering at every stage of the supply chain. Capture using crude snares and traps causes injury and prolonged distress. Transportation in concealed, overcrowded conditions without food, water, or temperature control causes dehydration, disease, and death for the majority of captured animals. Those who survive reach markets and private buyers to live in conditions incompatible with their needs. The welfare consequences extend beyond individual animals to population-level loss of ecological and social relationships. Addressing wildlife crime requires both enforcement and demand reduction.

What You Can Do

Never purchase live wild animals, wildlife-derived products, or suspected wildlife souvenirs
Report suspected wildlife crime to TRAFFIC or national wildlife crime reporting lines
Support organizations investigating and exposing wildlife trafficking networks
Advocate for stronger penalties for wildlife trafficking and better enforcement resources
Choose tourism experiences that fund conservation rather than consuming wildlife products