WWF Concern at Illegal Wildlife Trade Increase

WWF charity officials are becoming increasingly concerned that international organised crime syndicates will start to look at the illegal trade in wildlife as an ‘easy buck’. This dreadful business is estimated to be worth a staggering $19billion a year, and now more criminals are seeing this as a high profit/low risk business to be involved in.

The trade in illegal animals and their parts is now the fourth most profitable criminal enterprise on the planet. With more and more illegal syndicates looking at this as the new ‘golden egg’, this can only spell trouble for the world’s most endangered animals. With rising demand, this will of course see more animals at risk to illegal poachers, pushing many species closer to extinction. Plus with more criminal networks becoming involved, the fight against illicit wildlife trafficking must now become a major talking point for the world’s governments to help their national security.

Director General of WWF International, Jim Leape, said –

Wildlife crime has escalated alarmingly in the past decade. It is driven by global crime syndicates, and so we need a concentrated global response. It is communities, often the world’s poorest, that lose the most from this illicit trade, while criminal gangs and corrupt officials profit. Frontline rangers are losing their lives and families that depend on natural resources are losing their livelihoods. Governments need to address wildlife crime as a matter of urgency. It is not just a matter of environmental protection, but also of national security. It is time to put a stop to this profound threat to the rule of law.

The profits from this barbaric trade are used to purchase black market weapons, plus help to finance terrorists and civil conflicts in poor countries. Now is the time for the world’s governments to stand together and proclaim that the trade in illegal wildlife products must be seen as an international crime, and not just an environmental issue. The profits are fuelling more death and destruction around the planet, costing human lives as well as those of these poor animals.

With stiffer sentences, organised crime syndicates would no longer see this as ‘easy money’. Plus with the help of greater government resourcing, and the use of modern intelligence to identify wildlife criminals, hopefully charities like WWF will be able to stop this illegal trade before we lose some of the world’s most beautiful animals.

If you would like to learn more about the work of WWF, or would like to help the cause by adopting an animal online, check out our dedicated charity page for further information.