Illegal Trade and Wildlife Product

The international trade in wildlife' is a serious conservation problem. Globally, wildlife trade is the second largest illegal trade in volume, and comes only next to narcotics and is followed by arms and ammunition. It's the most serious threat to a number of endangered and vulnerable species. Not all of the wildlife trade is illegal: some of it is entirely legitimate, though it can put species under additional pressure, at a time when they are facing threats such as over-fishing, pollution, dredging, deforestation and other forms of habitat destruction. Items may be traded live or dead. This book provides a critical assessment of how the trade in wildlife is currently regulated and how those regulations are enforced. Through analysis and comparisons with the trade in other illegal goods, it shows what the weaknesses are, where the system is failing and what must be done if conservation efforts are to be supported by trade regulations, and not undermined.