New research reveals how kers are robbing the world’s most wildlife-rich region of its natural wealth. Mexico, Brazil and Colombia see the highest
Uses publicly available data from wildlife seizures in the air transport sector between 2010 and 2020 to provide the most comprehensive assessment of wildlife king by air in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region to date.
Released by the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, the study aims to inform the aviation industry within, or with connections to, LAC of how it can strengthen its defenses against wildlife king. To this end, researchers at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) used data from the
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“The trends identified in this research can be leveraged by airports and airlines to disrupt king attempts. For example, knowing that Brazil sees significant volumes of aquatic species smuggled to Germany and birds to the Netherlands can prompt increased vigilance along these routes, ” explains Michelle Owen, ROUTES Lead. “Aviation personnel in Colombia may pay particular attention to air freight, understanding that this is where illegal wildlife is most often found in the country.”
Wildlife king in LAC has been in dire need of attention. The region is home to more than 40% of the world’s biodiversity, but according to WWF, animal population sizes here have dropped by 94% in the last 50 years – the most significant fall registered in any part of the world, due to factors including habitat loss, disease and trade. And biodiversity protection isn’t the only cause for concern in the LAC region.
The particular vulnerability of the LAC region doesn’t just lie in its fantastic biodiversity, which makes it a prime target for wildlife criminals. It is also home turf to some of the world’s most sophisticated and violent king networks, dealing in weapons, narcotics and human beings.
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Several of these also have demonstrable links to global wildlife king. Understanding and responding to these networks’ movements has the potential to protect not just wildlife but humans too.”
Though the brief focuses on the LAC region, the findings within are of global concern. Fifty-three countries were linked to wildlife king through air transport within, to and from LAC countries between 2010 and 2020, with frequent shipping of its unique, endemic animals to meet demand in Europe, North America and Asia.
The most commonly ked animals were birds, primarily finches, which made up 33% of all LAC bird seizures in aviation from 2010 to 2020. A substantial proportion of birds were destined for the United States, shedding light on a lesser-known but detrimental demand for songbirds there. Songbird competitions, particularly in New York City, motivate much smuggling of finches from Georgetown in Guyana.
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Intra-regional king was also a frequent phenomenon, with many reptiles and birds sought after as exotic pets within the LAC. Whilst other countries primarily acted as exporters, Brazil stood out for the size of its domestic market, seeing the highest level of within-country trade. The study identified an emerging trend for aquatic species in Brazil, with 2019 seeing a sharp increase in king of Zebra Pleco – sought after as a pet for their striking coloration – and a demand for the skin of the Pirarucu fish, used for leather.
Of further concern is the fact that 40% of known seizures in the LAC between 2010 and 2020 consisted of live animals (often destined for pets), which a previous report from C4ADS flagged as a risk for zoonotic disease spillover.
“The information in this report is very valuable for the effective training of personnel and further collaboration between aviation stakeholders, customs and law enforcement authorities. ACI World and ROUTES' awareness-raising and training resources, are helping airports understand their crucial role in combatting wildlife king” says Juliana Scavuzzi, Senior Director of Sustainability, Environmental Protection and Legal Affairs at Airports Council International (ACI) World.
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The ROUTES Partnership is increasing its engagement with the air transport industry in the LAC region through bespoke webinars, provision of counter-wildlife king training materials in Spanish and Portuguese, and tailored guidance to aviation companies looking for support in this area.
The USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership brings together transport and logistics companies, government agencies, development groups, law enforcement, conservation organisations and donors to disrupt wildlife king activities, and forms a key element of the concerted international response to addressing wildlife poaching and associated criminal activities worldwide. Further information and resources can be found at www.routespartnership.org.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is responsible for the majority of overseas development assistance from the United States Government and works to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing security and prosperity for America and the world. www.usaid.gov/
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The illegal wildlife trade is increasing all across Latin America, the first high-level conference on the issue in the Americas was told.
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After drugs, guns and human trafficking, wildlife trafficking is the world’s most lucrative organised crime with an annual value of around $20bn (£16bn) each year, according to a 2016 report by Interpol and the UN environment programme.
As the world’s most biodiverse continent, home to roughly 40% of the world’s plant and animal species, Latin America is a hub for the criminal trade. Wildlife trafficking is increasing in most countries in the region, including the conference’s host, Peru, said the head of its forestry and wildlife service, Luis Alberto Gonzales-Zuñiga.
“It’s not stalled, or declining, it’s on the rise. It’s a globalised business and it needs a globalised response, ” he told the Guardian.
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Whether it is the trade in live wildlife or dead animals and their parts, the countries from which they originate need to take the crime more seriously, said Salvador Ortega, Interpol’s head of forest crime for Latin America. They need to understand that they are part of the supply chain for a transnational criminal organisation, he told the Guardian.
“Corruption is the most disruptive element for our investigations in this region, ” Ortega added. “[It] damages international police cooperation and transnational investigations which are fundamental to combat a crime whose origin may be this region, but whose destination is the regions which finance these crimes.”
While collectors in the US, Europe and the Middle East largely drive the smuggling of live specimens, east Asia, particularly China, is a major destination for wildlife parts, Ortega noted.
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The poaching of jaguars, the largest big cat in the Americas, for teeth, skin and bones has grown for the first time since the 1970s to feed rising demand for Chinese traditional medicine and exotic jewellery. It is linked to increased Chinese investment in the region, experts say.
The threatened carnivore was the image chosen as the emblem for the initiative launched in Lima on illegal wildlife trade last week. Revered by several pre-hispanic cultures, the animal continues to hold a mystical appeal for the continent’s many peoples even as it faces new threats.
Lishu Li, programme manager for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in China, said that the government there was taking “serious actions to combat the illegal wildlife trade” with more prosecutions, longer jail terms and fines.
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Sue Lieberman, vice president for international policy at the WCS, said there were strong incentives for the region to combat wildlife trafficking beyond fighting crime.
“Ecotourism for one is really important source of foreign exchange, ” she said. “But if you don’t have wildlife to view people aren’t going to come.
Part of a haul of 12.3m seahorses seized in the port of Callao, Peru, in September 2019. They were valued at more than $6m. Photograph: Peruvian Ministry of Production/AFP via Getty Images
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Both the UK and the US governments have backed this summit, which is a follow-up to the illegal wildlife trade conference in London last year.
The UK environment minister, Zac Goldsmith, commended the conference. “We need to make sure this wildlife trade doesn’t drive further biodiversity loss and damage fragile ecosystems, ” he said.
A US State Department spokesperson said the country was a “leader in the global fight against wildlife trafficking, a serious transnational crime that threatens security, undermines the rule of law, fuels corruption, robs communities of legitimate economic livelihoods, and pushes species to the brink of extinction”.
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An executive order signed by President Trump in 2017 “specifically recognised wildlife trafficking as one of four priority areas in efforts to dismantle transnational criminal organisations”, the spokesperson added.
The 27 mostly Latin American and Caribbean
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