NEW REPORT:
Wildlife Traffickers are Exploiting Vulnerabilities in the Air Transport Sector Worldwide
A new analysis of global wildlife trafficking seizures in the air transport sector reveals that wildlife traffickers are highly dependent on commercial air transportation systems to smuggle endangered wildlife.
The report, In Plane Sight: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector, produced by C4ADS as part of the USAID Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, analyzes global airport seizures of illegal wildlife and wildlife products from 2009 to 2017, finding trafficking instances in at least 136 countries worldwide.
Findings:
- Instances of wildlife trafficking in air transport have been recorded in 136 countries worldwide
- Wildlife seizures in air transport have more than quadrupled between 2009-2017
- In 2017, wildlife trafficking seizure numbers increased 40% from 2016 numbers
- Rhino horn seizures nearly tripled (193% increase) from 2016-2017
- 2017 was the lowest year for large-scale ivory seizures since 2014
- A high number of seizures are being missed exiting Southern and Eastern African airports
- There has been a clear growth in pangolin trafficking through the air transport sector from 2009 to 2017
- South and Southeast Asia remains the epicenter of reptile trafficking instances, while China and Indonesia increased significantly in 2017
Please reach out to hallie.sacks@traffic.org for any questions or for additional communications resources. Photos and infographics for press use can be downloaded here.
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