Wildlife trafficking causes enormous welfare harm beyond the animals ultimately traded — capture, transport, and holding conditions kill the majority of trafficked animals.
Wildlife crime is primarily discussed as a conservation and biodiversity issue, but the welfare harm to individual animals is enormous and often overlooked. The capture process for live trade involves methods including snaring, trapping, and shooting of mothers to take young — all causing acute injury and distress. Holding conditions in transit are typically inadequate — animals are packed into containers designed to conceal them from detection, without water, food, temperature regulation, or veterinary care. Mortality rates during transit are staggering. Animals that survive to reach buyers often arrive psychologically and physically damaged. Addressing wildlife crime requires law enforcement, demand reduction in consumer markets, and alternative livelihood programs for communities that depend on wildlife extraction for income.