The illegal wildlife trade causes immense welfare harm to individual animals during capture, transport and sale - strengthening enforcement and reducing demand are the primary welfare interventions.
Wildlife trade welfare harms are among the most acute documented for wild animals. The mortality and suffering during capture and transport is immense - for every animal that reaches a buyer, multiple others die in transit. Animals that survive and reach markets often languish in inappropriate conditions causing chronic welfare harm. The welfare case against the wildlife trade is absolute. Enforcement strengthening and demand reduction are complementary strategies: enforcement raises costs and risks for traders while demand reduction reduces incentive. Consumer awareness campaigns in major destination markets including China, Vietnam and the US have shown measurable demand reduction for some products.