From Counter Extremism Project <[email protected]>
Subject New Report Reveals That The Illegal Wildlife Trade Is Resurging Post-Pandemic
Date March 2, 2023 8:30 AM
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By failing to tackle illegal wildlife trafficking, the world is missing a
critical opportunity to prevent the future spread of zoonotic disease, halt a
man-made mass extinction of wildlife, and starve organized criminal and
extremist groups of a $23 million revenue stream according to a new report from
the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), Extinction Inc. – Illegal Wildlife
Trafficking After the Pandemic.





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New Report Reveals That The Illegal Wildlife Trade Is Resurging Post-Pandemic



(New York, N.Y.) – By failing to tackle illegal wildlife trafficking, the
world is missing a critical opportunity to prevent the future spread of
zoonotic disease, halt a man-made mass extinction of wildlife, and starve
organized criminal and extremist groups of a $23 million revenue stream
according to a newreport
<[link removed]> from the Counter
Extremism Project (CEP),Extinction Inc. – Illegal Wildlife Trafficking After
the Pandemic.



The COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus the dangers posed by humanity’s
mass consumption of unregulated, illegal wildlife products. Driven by concern
to prevent the future spread of ‘zoonotic’ diseases (i.e., pathogens contracted
from animals), China—the world’s largest consumer market for wildlife
products—published an updated Wildlife Protection Law at the end of 2022, while
both the U.N. and EU also introduced new measures to interdict the illegal
wildlife trade.



But with the world economy opening up again, hopes of a new chapter in our
relationship with wildlife are fading quickly. There are already unmistakable
signs of resurging and rampant consumer demand.



With smugglers adapting quickly to changed conditions, rising consumer demand
is driving a fresh spike in illegal wildlife trafficking:

* A joint operation by European law enforcement entities running from
November 2021 to June 2022 resulted in the seizure of 1,255 kilograms of glass
eels (i.e., juvenile European eels) and the arrest of 49 individuals. The
illegal eel trade is believed to be worth 3 billion euros in peak years.
* A month-long Interpol operation in October 2022 resulted in 2,200 separate
seizures and the identification of 934 suspects and 141 companies involved in
illegal wildlife trafficking.
* Six tonnes of ivory were discovered by Malaysian authorities in a shipping
container on July 10, 2022, while 600 kilograms were seized in Vietnamese ports
over a single weekend in February 2023.
The illegal trade in wildlife products has grown to become the third most
profitable criminal endeavor globally, only superseded by drugs and arms
trafficking, according to Interpol. Some of the most vicious insurgencies of
recent memory, including Boko Haram (a.k.a. ISWAP), al-Shabaab, ISIS, and the
Zomi Revolutionary Army, have been part financed by illegal wildlife
trafficking. Asian crime syndicates and rogue regimes like the Taliban and the
Myanmar junta also reap huge profits from the trade.



With wildlife species now vanishing at a rate estimated at 1,000 times the
historical average, the world is facing down the barrel of the first ever
man-made mass extinction event. As this report makes clear, illegal wildlife
trade (IWT) is a primary driver of this crisis.



Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, chief executive officer of CEP, said:



“The report clearly outlines how pivotal it is for the world to immediately
get to grips with the rampant wildlife trafficking trade. Wildlife trafficking
is a financial resource for conflict parties, including terrorist networks.
Governments, as well as multilateral organisations, such as the European Union
and African Union should look to strengthen existing and, where appropriate,
establish new targeted sanction regimes that focus both on individuals and
entities involved in this illegal activity.”



Author of the report, CEP Senior Advisor and former Ambassador Sir Ivor
Roberts, said:



“In the battle to save our planet’s wildlife and safeguard humanity from the
many harms caused by illegal wildlife trading, the traffickers are winning and
there is very little time left to turn the tide. Yet, there is still hope. The
Anthropocene extinction is man-made. This means that it is also within our
power to avert the catastrophe towards which our planet is presently hurtling.
We are calling on governments across the globe to begin actively tackling the
illegal wildlife trade as part of the counter-terror strategy. Only by
recognizing that IWT is a core element of these extremist groups, will we be
able to get to the root of the issue and reverse its causes.”



Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at CEP and author of the report’s
recommendations, said:



“The time for discussion around the illegal wildlife trade has come and gone.
We need tangible and technical solutions to protect our remaining wildlife and
a real political will to stand against the traffickers. First, we must protect
the guardians who are guarding endangered animals, take on the traffickers and
cut off the traffic in transit. By halting the supply chain, we can weaken the
resources of these extremist traffickers and take the fight to the
international stage.”



To read the full report, please click here
<[link removed]>.



Interviews are available upon request.



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