In 2019, the illegal wildlife trade reached staggering levels. Pangolin scales and ivory were being trafficked in massive quantities from Africa to Asia, exposing a network of crime syndicates operating at an industrial scale. The sheer volume of these shipments marked a disturbing milestone, one that revealed the global reach …
Ivory trade is rife on social media in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam says a TRAFFIC study which found thousands of ivory items in trade during a month in 2016, and in a 2019 update. The study recorded 8,508 items ranging from elephant tusk tips to jewellery and decorative items …
As the challenges faced by countries and areas impacted by fragility, conflict and violence threaten to reverse decades of progress and development, the need for regional and international coordination and collaboration to foster stability and the rule of law is greater than ever. This report documents how permeable country borders …
Exotic wild animals are being smuggled into Japan and once past Customs border controls, continue to be legally sold as pets finds a new TRAFFIC report, Crossing the red line: Japan’s exotic pet trade. The study also highlights the potential for the exotic pet trade to facilitate the transmission of …
A TRAFFIC analysis finds a significant increase in reported poaching of wild animals in India during the lockdown period that is not restricted to any geographical region or state or to any specific wildlife area. Reports of poaching incidences for consumption and local trade have more than doubled during lockdown …
A new analysis of wildlife trafficking seizures in air transport reveals the illegal wildlife trade to be truly global in scope, encompassing additional airport locations as each year goes by. The report, Runway to Extinction: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector, produced by C4ADS as part of the USAID …
Some of the deadliest new diseases—including COVID-19, Ebola, SARS, and HIV—have arisen when the natural barriers between human and animal populations are breached. Dangerous close contact and prolonged exposure occurs when people encroach on wildlife habitat or bring wild animals into human communities. Both are routine in the global trade …
With COVID-19 cases, related human mortality and socio-economic disruption rising rapidly around the globe there are overwhelming reasons to concentrate on immediate emergency responses, the here and the now. People are dying, daily life is being fragmented, businesses are failing, families and communities are suffering and there is enormous uncertainty …
Article VII, paragraph 4, of the Convention provides that specimens of Appendix-I animal species bred in captivity for commercial purposes shall be deemed to be specimens of species included in Appendix II. In Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev. CoP15), the Conference of the Parties agreed that the exemption of Article VII, …
Since the first reports of novel pneumonia (COVID-19) in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, there has been considerable discussion on the origin of the causative virus, SARS-CoV-23 (also referred to as HCoV-19). Infections with SARS-CoV-2 are now widespread, and as of 11 March 2020, 121,564 cases have been confirmed in more …
Over a ten-year period from July 2010 to June 2019 the authors found neither India nor Bhutan had reported any incidences of poaching or illegal trade in Red Pandas, but in Nepal a total of 13 seizure records were reported between 2016 and 2019, accounting for a total of 29 …
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 …
Southeast Asia, perhaps more than any other region, encapsulates the full range of global challenges facing the management of biodiversity and trade in wildlife. Political and socio-economic disparities are large. Rapid development of infrastructure—often backed by foreign investments—and land conversion continues to challenge the region’s biodiversity hotspots. Levels of poaching, …
In response to the Chinese National Forest & Grassland Administration's (NFGA) decision to implement a strict ban on all wildlife trade and check all wildlife breeding and utilization permits due to suspected link between wild animal trade and the outbreak of the Coronavirus, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) supports the decision.
A newly released study carried out by TRAFFIC and commissioned by the CITES Secretariat documents thousands of marine turtles and their parts found in seizures, in both physical and online markets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam.
The illegal trade in bear parts for traditional medicine persists in Malaysia with a higher percentage of shops selling products claiming to contain some form of bear bile now, compared to four years ago. A new TRAFFIC study recorded bear-based medicines on offer in 69% of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) …
TRAFFIC's latest analysis on illegal trade of tortoises and freshwater turtles in India over a 10-year period i.e. September 2009–September 2019, has found at least 1,11,312 tortoises and freshwater turtles reported in illegal wildlife trade, that comes to more than 11,000 individual animals every year since 2009. Considering that a …
A new report finds that both legal and illegal trade are detrimental to the conservation of Africa’s iconic wildlife. Released by the London-based NGO World Animal Protection to coincide with World Animal Day, the report looks at the “Big 5” and “Little 5” most-in-demand species and how trade in those …
WWF has conducted the largest consumer survey about ivory trade in China – 2,000 people in 15 cities – for three consecutive years with GlobeScan, providing the best available assessment measuring changes in attitudes, purchasing and ban awareness over time. The 2019 survey shows consumer demand for elephant ivory has …
Imports of wildlife regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) into Macau doubled in a decade and are poised to continue increasing, prompting the need for stronger legislation, enforcement, and awareness, according to a new TRAFFIC report. The study, “The State …
This compilation of case studies has been published in advance of the First Regional Conference on the Illegal Trade in Wildlife in Latin America held in Lima, Peru, on 3 and 4 October 2019. It highlights evidence from 15 countries across Latin America including Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Honduras, Guyana and …
