At airports, seaports and land border crossings, $4.3 billion worth of wildlife and wildlife products were imported into the United States in 2019. According to a five-year trade report, about 200 million live animals are imported into the United States each year: 175 million fish for aquarium trade and 25 million animals consisting of a number of mammals. Amphibians, birds, insects, reptiles, spiders and more. In addition, thousands of illegally traded wildlife shipments are intercepted each year. In 2019 alone, the agency opened more than 10,000 illegal investigations into wildlife trafficking. Wildlife trade threatens the local ecosystem and puts additional pressure on all species at a time when they face threats such as overfishing, pollution, dredging, deforestation and other forms of habitat destruction. [ref. needed] In the food chain, species higher up the scale ensure that the species below them do not become too abundant (and thus control the population of those of them). Animals lower on the scale are often not carnivorous (but herbivorous) and control the abundance of plant species in an area. Due to the very large quantities of species that are removed from the ecosystem, it is not excluded that environmental problems arise, similar to overfishing, which causes an abundance of jellyfish. [ref. In Venezuela, more than 400 animal species are involved in subsistence hunting, national and international (illegal) trade.
These activities are widespread and may overlap in many regions, although they are driven by different markets and targets in different ways. [7] Kangaroos are currently legally harvested for trade and export in Australia. A number of species are involved in trade, including: Globally, wildlife trade is the second greatest threat to our planet`s vital biodiversity after habitat loss. A recent study found that 958 species listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are threatened with extinction because they are in international trade. There are countless examples of species decimated by the wildlife trade, including elephants, rhinos and pangolins. Legal wildlife trade has occurred for many species for a number of reasons, including commercial trade, pet trade, and conservation attempts. While most examples of legal wildlife trade can be attributed to large numbers of populations or pests, legal trade can be used to reduce illegal trade that threatens many species. Legalizing trade in species can allow for more regulated exploitation of animals and prevent illegal overfishing.
[ref. Jenkins estimates that such a program could be implemented at a reasonable cost with just $2 million and six full-time government employees, a figure developed with congressional staff in 2015 when Jenkins lobbied to expand the Fish and Wildlife Service`s “pest program.” “We`re not talking about a Cadillac program. We just need people to do the research, make risk-based predictions, and then operationalize those predictions to reduce the risk. “4. Once an animal has been removed from the wild, it is almost impossible to return. Even when law enforcement intercepts live animals, the stars must align to bring them back into the wild: officials must know where they came from, how to get there, and how to keep people, other wildlife, and people safe. This is rarely possible. Instead, zoos and other wildlife rescue groups are struggling to care for these animals for life, in facilities that are already full. In some cases, wild animals confiscated in captivity cannot be released or properly cared for and must be euthanized. This colorful assortment is a small glimpse into the legal international wildlife trade that could one day look like one of 41 ports of entry manned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspectors.
I regularly watched expeditions like this — next to boxes of freshly cut shampoo bottles, cucumbers, and roses — in Newark Harbor, New Jersey, when I was a wildlife inspector from 2004 to 2010. Protecting the world`s forests, the species that support them, and the local economy that depends on the revenues they can generate is paramount when it comes to global conservation and sustainable development efforts. We work with governments and the timber trading industry to ensure that logging and trade are carried out in a sustainable and legal manner. 1. Wildlife trafficking leads to species extinction and decline. Recent victims of illegal wildlife trade include: The Department of Justice`s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENRD), as well as U.S. prosecutors across the country, are responsible for prosecuting international wildlife trafficking crimes, particularly under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Lacey Act. and wildlife trafficking offences such as smuggling. Money laundering and criminal conspiracy.
In collaboration with the Department of the Interior`s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other agencies, the ENRD Environmental Crimes Division and U.S. prosecutors have indicted, prosecuted, and obtained convictions in numerous cases of trafficking in internationally protected species such as ivory, rhinoceros, narwhal tusks, shark fins, turtles and reptiles. Federal prosecutors have also filed charges against traffickers whose crimes threaten protected wildlife in the country, such as mountain lions, bobcats, rattlesnakes and paddle fish eggs. A summary of recent ENRD wildlife trade prosecutions is available here. 9. It is often very difficult to care for illegal animals. Many illegally traded animals die within the first year of capture due to stress and inadequate care. Caring for exotic illegal pets can also be extremely expensive and difficult, as many species have special needs that cannot be easily met in captivity. Do not be part of the illegal pet trade. When buying a new pet: (1) Check if the species is protected by international law (search by scientific name). (2) Check if the species is prohibited by state law. (3) Request documents and ensure that animals are legally acquired.
The overexploitation of species affects the living planet more broadly. Just as overfishing causes imbalances throughout the marine system, our complex web of life on Earth depends on careful and thoughtful management of wildlife and their habitats. Millions of live animals arrive in the U.S. each year without testing for the disease, leaving us vulnerable to another outbreak, says a former wildlife inspector. TRAFFIC is a founding partner of the FairWild Foundation, an organization that promotes the sustainable and ethical use of wild plants. Through best practice guidelines and a certification scheme, FairWild helps companies exploit and market wild plant material in a sustainable and ethical manner. Illegal wildlife trade and hunting have wreaked havoc on land and marine animals, many of which are of particular importance to WCS. Elephants, tigers and other big cats, rhinos, birds such as parrots and macaws, freshwater turtles, turtles, pangolins, sharks and rays face very significant commercial threats due to the demand for whole animals and/or their parts. This, in turn, is facilitated by other factors such as corruption and weak governance throughout the retail chain. The global scale of illegal wildlife trafficking enables the emergence and spread of zoonoses, in some cases generates revenue for organized crime syndicates and militias (and possibly terrorist groups in certain circumstances) and is therefore increasingly recognized as a threat to national and local security.
At the local level, the breakdown of the rule of law exacerbates local conflicts and undermines local livelihoods.