Wildlife trafficking is the fourth largest illegal trade globally. Beyond conservation impacts, it causes immense individual animal suffering at every stage.
Wildlife trafficking creates welfare suffering on a vast scale that is largely invisible to the public. Animals captured from the wild for the live trade endure extreme stress during capture, are often transported in conditions causing injury and death, and those that survive face lives in inadequate captivity. Animals killed for parts suffer the welfare costs of poaching methods that prioritise concealment over humane killing. The suffering is not only at the point of capture; animals kept for bile extraction and similar practices endure lifelong chronic suffering. Addressing wildlife crime is therefore a major animal welfare priority alongside its conservation significance.