Therefore, federal criminal enforcement of wildlife protection laws is a serious deterrent to illegal behavior that strengthens the wildlife management efforts of states, tribes, and outsiders. A wildlife case may involve the prosecution of individual and organizational perpetrators; confiscation of proceeds of illegal activities such as smuggling; punishment, which includes community service to mitigate the harm caused by the crime; confiscation of wild animals and instrumentalities used to commit the crime; and sharing confiscated property with local and international law enforcement partners. of Europeans support banning ivory trade, but it remains legal. We are working with the entire wildlife sector and supply chain to determine the modus operandi of wildlife criminals and issue INTERPOL communications to alert our member countries. We have coordinated several operations that have brought wildlife criminals to justice, dismantled the networks behind the crime, and seized tons of illegal products. Petrossian, G. A. (2019). The last fish swims: the global crime of illegal fishing. ABC-CLIO. Offences in this category include a range of commercial activities related to animal or plant products, as well as activities related to their transport (UNODC, 2012; UNODC, 2018; Wyatt, 2013).
`trafficking in human beings`, as regards a specimen, means unlawful acts committed by a person, whether for his own benefit or for the account of another person, for the purpose of importation from the sea, dispatch, transit, distribution, brokering, offering, storage with a view to supply, trade, processing, purchase, sale, delivery, storage or transport (UNODC, 2018). It may also include transportation, sale, delivery, etc. without a license or other required documents. Offences in this category include a wide range of criminal activities related to the felling of trees and the removal of plants. This may include logging or removal of protected species, excessive logging, logging without a permit or licence, use of fraudulent permits, illegal obtaining of timber permits, non-payment of taxes and other forest royalties, and damage to forest or plant ecosystems. Several countries extend criminal offences to the illegal removal of other plants (UNODC, 2012). One of the most effective tools to combat illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is to convince consumers to make informed choices. This includes people who buy the final product, as well as traders, suppliers and manufacturers. WWF actively advises against the purchase of certain wildlife products. We promote the production and purchase of sustainable wildlife certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
WWF works hand in hand with communities around the world, providing practical support to overcome poverty and help them make sustainable use of local wildlife. Margulies, J. D., Wong, R. W. Y. and Duffy, R. (2019). The imaginary « Asian super-consumer »: a critique of campaigns to reduce demand for illegal wildlife trade. Geoforum 107, 216-219. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2019.10.005 Haines, A. M., Webb, S. L.
and Wallace, J. R. (2021). « Conservation Forensics: The Intersection of Wildlife Crime, Forensics and Conservation, » in Wildlife Biodiversity Conservation (Cham: Springer), 125-146. INTERPOL`s Wildlife Team contributes to the dismantling and dismantling of transnational organized criminal networks involved in the illegal wildlife trade. We help our member countries effectively implement national and international laws and treaties. There are also significant differences between jurisdictions in the extent of criminal liability for these offences with respect to attempt, participation, incitement and others (Nurse, 2015; UNODC, 2018; UNODC, 2012). Some jurisdictions have also issued specific defences that only apply to wildlife and forest crimes (UNODC, 2018). WWF is asking for your help in saving wildlife and people from wildlife crime.
Join our Stop Wildlife Crime campaign and help us: Zimmerman, M. (2003). The black market in wildlife: tackling cross-border organised crime in the illegal wildlife trade. VJTL. 36, 1657–1689. ICCWC further states: « This can start with the illegal exploitation of natural resources, such as poaching an elephant, uprooting a rare orchid, unauthorised felling of trees or unauthorised sturgeon netting. It can also be subsequent actions, such as transforming wildlife into products, transporting them, offering them for sale, selling, possessing them, etc. This includes concealing and laundering the financial benefits derived from these crimes.
Some of these crimes will take place exclusively in the country of origin, while others will also take place in the country of destination, where specimens of live animals or plants or their parts and derivatives will eventually be consumed » (CITES Secretariat, [undated]). Laws and regulations on wildlife trafficking vary from country to country. Depending on the jurisdiction, violations of laws relating to the environment, forests, wildlife, fisheries, endangered species or protected areas may result in administrative, civil or criminal liability (UNODC, 2012). For more information, see Module 2 of the E4J academic module series on wildlife, forest and fisheries crime. Local wildlife is considered an important resource by many, often poorest, communities in developing countries. Some rural households depend on wild animals for protein, trees for fuel, and wild animals and plants for natural remedies. Wyatt, T. (2013). « The fight against wildlife trafficking », in Wildlife Trafficking (London: Palgrave Macmillan), 105-138. Wildlife crime is big business.
Wildlife and animal parts exploited by dangerous international networks are traded in the same way as illegal drugs and weapons. It is almost impossible to obtain reliable figures on the value of illegal wildlife trade. Experts from TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, estimate that this will cost billions of dollars. The very existence of illicit trade undermines countries` efforts to protect their natural resources. Illegal wildlife trade is perpetrated by criminal networks with a broad international reach. Some sell illegal drugs, weapons and even people. Recent findings show that some networks are also linked to terrorist organizations. The United States views poaching and trade in protected wildlife as a threat to good governance, a threat to the rule of law, and a challenge to our responsibility to this good land. The rule of law is the basis for freedom, security and prosperity. Poachers, wildlife traffickers and black market traders operate all over the world. Their criminal actions harm communities, degrade our institutions, destabilize our environment and funnel billions of dollars to those who commit evil in our world.
These criminals must and can be arrested. Future generations must not say that the nations of the world have stood idly by or reacted too little or too late, while large species are disappearing forever. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting U.S. wildlife from poaching, illegal marketing, and other types of wildlife crime. While our special constables and wildlife inspectors within the Office of Law Enforcement work with our federal, state and tribal conservation partners across the country to investigate these crimes, we also rely on the advice of concerned citizens. People like you interact and share information that helps us protect everything from native turtles and pale sturgeon to bald eagles and white-tailed deer. Help us close the next case and you may be eligible for a cash prize. van Uhm, D. P., Pires, S. F., Sosnowski, M., and Petrossian, G. A.
(2019). « Comparing and contrasting wildlife seizures made at EU and US entry point », in Quantitative Studies in Green and Conservation Criminology: The Measurement of Environmental Harm and Crime, eds. M. Lynch and S. F. Pires (London: Routledge), 127-145. Empowering frontline officials to save animals from wildlife trafficking In the years since the adoption of the Lacey Act, national wildlife protection laws have gained strength and been put in place, curbing international trade in threatened and endangered species, including black corals, tigers, ginseng, turtles, striped bass and leopards.