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Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade

Habitat destruction and illegal wildlife trade (IWT) have devastating impacts on the populations of numerous wildlife species around the world. IWT is associated with the demand for wildlife and wildlife products from markets around the globe but primarily from Asia and South East Asia. A recent study1 of 27,000 vertebrates (nearly half of the known vertebrate species), shows that 32% have decreased in population size and range. Furthermore, in a sample of over a 170-mammal species for which there was more detailed information, all have lost 30% or more of their geographic ranges and more than 40% of the species experienced severe population declines and range reduction of more than 80% between 1900 and 2015.

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