The world’s flora and fauna are at huge risk from criminals. The theft of nature represents massive profits along the entire supply chain, from poaching and transportation to processing and selling.

This includes illegal trade in wild flora, fauna and marine life, loss of forests (eg illegal logging and trade in timber), smuggling of ozone-depleting substances and the illicit trade of hazardous waste.

Vast financial gains against low risk of detection and scarce conviction rates has seen criminal networks and organized crime groups exploit illicit transnational trafficking of rare and endangered species, supplying a demand for consumption that is often thousands of kilometers from the source.

Critically, the same routes used to smuggle wildlife across countries and continents are often used to traffic weapons, drugs and people. The level of organization associated with environmental and wildlife crime also generally indicates strong links with theft, document fraud and corruption and often occurs hand-in-hand with counterfeiting, money laundering and even murder.

You can help stop wildlife and environmental crime by knowing the signs.

Check out our FREE Wildlife Crime Awareness e-Learning module and its resources.

And, if you suspect wildlife crime is occurring, or you believe someone is facilitating wildlife trafficking Report now