Global Wildlife Crime and Animal Welfare

Wildlife crime encompasses poaching, trafficking, and illegal trade that causes direct welfare harm to millions of individual animals while driving species toward extinction, representing a major intersection of welfare and conservation concerns.

Key Facts

Wildlife crime is estimated to generate $23 billion annually — the fourth largest illegal trade globally after drugs, weapons, and human trafficking
An estimated 100 million sharks are killed annually, many through illegal finning operations
Elephant poaching has killed hundreds of thousands of individuals in the past decade, with documented social disruption to surviving herds
Live animal trafficking for the exotic pet trade involves high mortality rates from capture through transport and sale
Wildlife crime enforcement is chronically underfunded relative to the scale of the problem
Consumer demand reduction in key markets — primarily China and Southeast Asia for many wildlife products — is the most effective long-term intervention

Welfare Considerations

Wildlife crime causes welfare harm at both individual and population levels. Individual animals killed for body parts, captured for live trade, or incidentally killed as bycatch in illegal fishing experience direct suffering. Population-level effects include social disruption from targeted killing of dominant individuals — elephant matriarch poaching destroys the social knowledge base of entire herds, impairing survival and reproduction across generations. Live animal trafficking subjects individuals to extreme stress, injury, and high mortality throughout the supply chain. Demand reduction in consumer markets addresses the root cause — without profitable markets, wildlife crime loses its economic driver. Strengthening enforcement, increasing penalties, and community engagement in range countries address supply-side factors.

What You Can Do

Never purchase wildlife products including traditional medicines, ivory, shark fin, or live exotic animals
Report suspected wildlife trafficking to TRAFFIC or national wildlife crime reporting systems
Support demand reduction campaigns in key consumer markets through organizations working in those communities
Donate to wildlife crime enforcement organizations and anti-poaching ranger support programs
Engage in responsible tourism that does not support facilities or experiences involving trafficked wildlife