The dangers of wildlife trade

The global wildlife trade, legal and illegal, can:

  • Threaten biodiversity and risk losing endangered species forever
  • Spread infectious disease to livestock and humans
  • Cause needless suffering to animals, as well as humans.

Worldwide, 7,725 species of animals, from insects and birds to gorillas, elephants and reptiles, are considered at risk of extinction. That’s 20% of all known mammal species and 12% of known species of birds threatened with being lost forever.

Wildlife trade news

Bullet casings used to kill elephants in Cameroon.
11th January 2013 Céline Sissler-Bienvenu
As many of us prepare for the holidays surrounded by friends and loved ones, news reports of heavily armed poachers in Read more »
IFAW honored Mohammad Ghanem Almazrou’e; an officer with IFAW training who abort
28th December 2012 Ahmed Mohamed AbouZahra
After several workshops with Dubai customs, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) office of International Fund for Read more »
With the fast changing world, the Maasai of Amboseli are at a crossroads
27th December 2012 Bernard. M. Tulito
With the fast changing world, the Maasai of Amboseli are at a cross road - to adopt the changes and survive or ignore them Read more »
OOGR scouts with the one recovered tusk.
19th December 2012 Evan Mkala
It was late afternoon of Sunday the 28th October 2012 on Olgulului – Ololorashi lands in Amboseli. The sun was Read more »
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4th December 2012
My good friend and colleague Sergey Bereznuk recently received some well-deserved attention when he won a Rolex Award for Watch Video »
6th September 2012
I write this on my last day in Amboseli National Park, in the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro. It has been a spectacular journey Watch Video »
15th August 2012
If you wanted to ask an elephant a question, how would you go about it? One way would be to record an elephant’s call Watch Video »
24th May 2012
Yes, it’s happening again. A few weeks ago, the delicate state of peace in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was Watch Video »
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10th January 2013
The Zambian game hunting industry appears to be in disarray following the suspension of licences and the apparent firing of top officials within the country’s Wildlife Authority (ZAWA). In December, Zambia’s Minister of Tourism and Arts, Read more »
14th December 2012
MEDIA ADVISORY Editors: High-resolution photos and video from the gift exchange will be available For more information please contact: Adrian Hiel +32 (0)473 86 34 61 WHAT: EU Environment Ministers are invited to receive a free Polar Bear Christmas Read more »
©IFAW - Archive photo
16th November 2012
Today’s giant 1,3 tonne ivory seizure in Hong Kong raises the tally of contraband ivory confiscated in the Chinese city to over five tonnes – in less than four weeks. On 20 October Hong Kong officials seized a record smashing 3,81 tonnes Read more »
archive photo © IFAW/D. Willetts
15th November 2012
Three record-sized ivory confiscations in just three weeks, has put a further dent in East Africa’s growing image as a clearing house for the bloody illegal ivory trade. They are a bleak reflection of the prediction by James Isiche, Regional Di Read more »
600 kilos of Ivory Seized – Is Kenya Culpable in Illegal Ivory Trade?
20th July 2012
– In a span of days, more than half a tonne of ivory has been seized by customs officials in two Asian countries. Last Friday, Thai customs officials discovered 456 kg of ivory which had been hidden in crates aboard a flight from Kenya. In addi Read more »
Ivory Busts – Cape Town a New Transit  Point for Trafficking?
11th July 2012
Yesterday’s seizure of 46 elephant tusks in Cape Town, the latest ivory related crime linked to the metropole, is fuelling concerns the South African city may be a fast developing cog for ivory transit in the wheel of wildlife crime. Customs of Read more »
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Victories For Animals
6th November 2012 by
Timeline of  IFAW major victories from 1969 - present Read more »
Defending Seals
26th September 2012 by
Each year in Canada, tens of thousands of baby harp seals are killed for their pelts. Read more »
Protecting and Saving Animals
8th May 2012 by
Elephants at risk from poachers, whales and seals threatened by cruel hunts, wildlife and pets stranded after disasters Read more »
Stopping Illegal Wildlife Trade
8th May 2012 by
Elephants, tigers and other endangered wildlife are being killed at an alarming rate for trinkets, potions and fashion. Read more »
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Bullet casings used to kill elephants in Cameroon.
11th January 2013 by Céline Sissler-Bienvenu
As many of us prepare for the holidays surrounded by friends and loved ones, news reports of heavily armed poachers in Read more »
10th January 2013 by
The Zambian game hunting industry appears to be in disarray following the suspension of licences and the apparent firing of Read more »
IFAW honored Mohammad Ghanem Almazrou’e; an officer with IFAW training who abort
28th December 2012 by Ahmed Mohamed AbouZahra
After several workshops with Dubai customs, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) office of International Fund for Read more »
With the fast changing world, the Maasai of Amboseli are at a crossroads
27th December 2012 by Bernard. M. Tulito
With the fast changing world, the Maasai of Amboseli are at a cross road - to adopt the changes and survive or ignore them Read more »
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