Wildlife smuggling
[2] The prolific growth of wildlife smuggling makes it the fourth-largest criminal enterprise globally after drug, firearm, and human trafficking.
[5][6][7][8][9] With the help of globalization, the Internet, social media, and people moving from one nation to another over the centuries, many items desired by the wildlife trade are distributed multi-nationally, such as traditional medicines which appear in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.
[10] Laws prohibiting the use of particular plant or animal-derived items fall short when people believe they encroach on traditional cultural values or what they believe is best for human life.
[11] Below are some examples of culturally influenced illegal wildlife trade by various continents and their countries or regions: The use of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) began during the 10th century BCE.
Utilizing a variety of plants and animals, TCM was considered the key to treating disease and mitigating the effects of aging.
[6][10] A recent study sought insights into China's millennial population's attitude towards consuming wildlife products for medicinal purposes.
However, the global trade of wildlife commodities is ineffectively monitored and accounted for due to the constraint of the current HS Code System used by the customs worldwide.
[18] Furthermore, some frequently traded taxonomic groups including amphibian and live coral are not accounted for at all due to the absence of HS code.
[38] Wildlife smuggling presents an economic cost to the countries where it occurs, including lost tourism and development opportunities.
Throughout the last hundred years, around twenty animals are extinct due to poaching and illegal smuggling, such as the West African Black Rhinoceros, Pyrenean Ibex, and the Passenger Pigeon.
[48] As the international community increases efforts in monitoring and controlling environmental damage, the United Nations aims to create more protected habitats and ecosystems through initiative like the Sustainable Development Goal 15.
[49] Wildlife trafficking is a rising international crisis that is not only taking away animal rights but also threatening the world on global environmental, social, and economic levels.
Their means of action include raising public awareness to curb demand, strengthening international cross-border law enforcement to limit supply, and endeavoring to mobilize political support from upper echelons.
[55] ASEAN-WEN oversees cross-border cooperation and aims to strengthen the collective law enforcement capacity of the ten ASEAN member countries.
It is the largest regional wildlife law enforcement collaboration in the world and receives support from the United States Agency for International Development.
The SAWEN countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) directs its efforts at the supply side of wildlife smuggling.
[62] The Lacey Act of 1900 is a U.S. federal law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold, including endangered species.
[63] In 2022, the Big Cat Public Safety Act was enacted, requiring licenses to keep large exotic cats such as lions and tigers and banning cub petting, a lucrative enterprise that incentivized an illegal underground endangered animal trade publicized by the popular documentary miniseries Tiger King.
