Fight Illegal Wildlife Trade
IFAW works on the front lines of the fight to end the deadly illegal trade in wildlife. We prompted eBay, the world’s largest internet auction site, to ban the sale of ivory after an IFAW investigation tracked more than 7,000 wildlife product listings on 183 web sites in 11 countries and discovered elephant ivory accounted for 73 percent of the trade. IFAW was also instrumental in Taobao.com's adoption of a ban on shark fin offers on their online auction? Web site, China’s largest.
In the Caribbean, IFAW wildlife enforcement training prompted an unprecedented seizure and rescue in 2009 of more than 1,000 animals in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago and trained over 200 officers in the Middle East and North Africa in the prevention of illegal wildlife trade. A few months earlier, in the largest ever crackdown on wildlife trade, IFAW worked with the Kenya Wildlife Service and Interpol on a four-month operation that netted a ton of ivory items and 57 suspects. In India, IFAW , and our partner Wildlife Trust of India, helped save the endangered Tibetan antelope from extinction by winning a ban on the sale of shahtoosh shawls, made from the fine wool of dead antelopes.
Tigers Under Threat
Tigers have evoked awe in the hearts and minds of people throughout history. Fierce and noble, the tiger embodies the qualities of strength and courage. Unfortunately, these same traits have made tigers a target for hunters and wildlife traders, who have wiped out at least three tiger sub-species in the past century. Wild tigers once numbered around 100,000 across Asia -- today there are fewer than 3,500.
Killing with Keystrokes: Wildlife Trade on the Internet
The Internet has become the world's biggest marketplace, one that is open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As unregulated and anonymous as it is unlimited, the Internet provides endless opportunities for illegal criminal activities and transactions. Increasingly, the Internet is a means by which the illicit trade in wildlife is conducted: a trade so great that it is now estimated to be second only to rival illegal trafficking in drugs and weapons.
Think Twice - Don't Buy Wildlife Souvenirs
Every year, millions of tourists unwittingly support the illegal wildlife trade as they buy endangered species as souvenirs. The impact of buying illegal animal products is also felt by ecosystems and indigenous communities, and something CAN be done.
Protecting Animals With International Treaties
See why the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is a critical tool for protecting animals from potentially devastating effects of international trade.
Publications
Learn more about IFAW's campaign "Fight against Illegal Trade in Wildlife"
New Partnership
IFAW is pleased to announce that we have signed a Partnership Agreement with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS).
Resources
The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) is a network of government and non-government enforcement and compliance practitioners from over 100 countries.
