EU IS hub for illegal trade
in protected wild species, report finds

The European Union (EU) remains a significant market for wildlife trafficking, as commercial entities and individuals continue to smuggle wild species and their products into, through, and from EU Member States.

A new TRAFFIC report funded by the European Commission (EC) analyses over 3,600 EU wildlife seizures in 2022 reported by users of the TRAFFIC-managed EU-TWIX enforcement platform.

An astounding array of live animals and plants, timber, body parts and derivatives, medicinal products, ornamental pieces, and other products were intercepted by customs and enforcement agencies throughout the region. 70% of these were made by Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and Italy.

While small numbers of illegal elephant ivory and rhino horn items remained destined for the EU, the primary wild species commodity seized – by number of seizure records – was illegal plant-derived medicinals, with timber and wood products the most-seized commodity by weight.

83% of illegal medicinal products came from CITES-listed plants including Cacti, Costus Root, African Cherry, Orchids, Agarwood, American Ginseng, and Aloe, the majority of which were exported from Thailand, the USA, and Viet Nam.

Given medicinal products are usually transported and packaged as pills, they can be difficult to identify and are often only flagged as suspicious during routine inspections due to incorrect or false documentation.

What compounds the issue is that only 25% of seized medicinals were actually described as such, with the remainder declared using loose terms such as “extracts”, “powder”, or “derivatives”.

Unsustainable and/or illegal harvesting of ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plant species usually occurs from global biodiversity hotspots. It demonstrates the global challenge to ensure that international plant trade threatens neither the ecosystems nor the local communities that rely on them.

The EU is combatting the threats posed by wildlife trafficking through the Commission’s revised EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking and their new EU Regulation on deforestation-free products, intended to ensure wildlife consumption in the EU doesn’t contribute to deforestation and associated environmental threats. This report reveals the need for the issue to remain high on the EU agenda. Medicinal seizures also included health products derived from animals. Sturgeons, venomous snakes, musk deer, seahorses, leeches, and bears were some of the animal-based medicinals seized during 2022.

Non-medicinal mammal bodies, parts, and derivatives involved over 260 seizures – a slight increase from the previous year.

The types of seized commodities belonging to this diverse group ranged from body parts, furs, and claws, mainly from panther and lynx species, bear bodies and skulls, cetacean and primate meat, and bovid trophies and horns.  

As examples of seizures, in Lisbon, Portuguese authorities seized a significant container shipment from Montreal, Canada smuggling various CITES-protected species including Black and Grizzly bear trophies, while German Customs at Frankfurt am Main Airport seized 41 Ball Pythons and two White-lipped Pythons detected in 38 cloth bags in personal baggage, on export to Kuwait.

A growing concern flagged by TRAFFIC is a burgeoning trend in exotic pet ownership in the EU. In 2022, the total seizure of 1,886 live animals were all assumed to be destined for the pet trade. Parrots, birds of prey, turtles and tortoises were among the species seized.

Following an expert event on the role of behavioural change interventions to combat illegal trade, the Commission is piloting a dedicated project to reduce the demand for illegally acquired exotic pets.

Methods employed by traffickers are ever-changing. Criminals regularly switch their routes and concealment methods to evade detection and stay ahead of enforcement agencies.

In a slight change from previous years, mail centres and airports were the primary interception points for illegal products, with seizures at private premises decreasing. 

While illegal exports from mainland China into the EU decreased in 2022, illegal exports from Thailand and the USA increased.

Trafficking of wild species in the EU and other European states remains a cause for concern. Vigilant enforcement, interagency cooperation, targeted behavioural change initiatives, and innovative private sector partnerships are essential to safeguard European markets from contributing to illegal trade that drives global conservation crises."

Anastasiya Timoshyna, Director of TRAFFIC’s European Programme Office.

“The volume of seizures, combined with ongoing legislative commitments to address illegal trade in wild species, demonstrates the efforts of EU Member States in combatting the issue.”