The challenge
Illegal and legal wildlife trade in the UK is a much bigger issue than most people realise.
Globally, the UK reports one of the highest seizure levels of illegal wildlife products, and it also imports large volumes of wild species and products legally. TRAFFIC works with UK civil society, private sector, and public bodies to help address issues of unsustainable wildlife trade.
34,714
individual raptors exported from the UK during 1975-2020. Since the EU Wild Bird Trade Ban in 2005, all exports must be captive bred
11th
highest global importer and 14th highest (re-)exporter of CITES-listed species
only 1.4%
the percentage of juvenile European Eels that entered the North Sea area in 2019 compared to numbers from 1960–1979.
In the UK, collected peregrine falcon eggs are laundered into legal trade, and glass eel trafficking remains a threat. Between 2013 and 2020 the UK Border Force made 6,100 CITES seizures of a wide range of animal and bird derivates, timber/wood products and medicinal plants.
The UK is one of the world’s largest markets and (re)exporters of legal wild species and products, including timber and wood products, seafood, plant ingredients for healthcare and wellness industries and more, including CITES-listed species and products from around the globe. Despite the richness of British waters, a recent audit of 104 fish stocks found 25% were in a critical condition, and the UK is a net importer of seafood.
European Eel © verneau / iNaturalist
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Partnership working is key to tackle wildlife crime due to the wide-ranging nature of offences, species involved and the general absence of human eye-witnesses. The work of PAW Forensic Working Group, facilitated by TRAFFIC, enables UK enforcement to secure the evidence they need to progress their investigations.
Dr Lucy Webster, Chair of the PAW Forensic Working Group
TRAFFIC's solutions
The UK has strong civil society groups concerned with combatting wildlife crime, advocating for transparency in supply chains, and extensive legislation. We draw on our experience globally, applying this to critical issues such as wildlife forensics, traceability of wild-harvested products, engagement of key private sector players, and support for law enforcement and policy.
Wildlife forensics in the UK
TRAFFIC co-ordinates the Forensic Working Group of the UK Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime. Through this group, we work with the forensic science community, government departments, the police, UK Border Force and civil society, to ensure wildlife law enforcers in the UK can apply the latest scientific technologies.
We manage two funds for the Forensic Working Group; the Early Investigations Fund covers tests such as x-rays, post-mortems and detection of poisoning in birds of prey, while the Forensic Analysis Fund supports investigations that lead to prosecutions. We have directed funds to forensic investigations that have resulted in successful prosecutions, such as traffickers in birds of prey.
© ibbl / Flickr
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Wild plants for food, beauty and health
British kitchen and bathroom cupboards are packed with products from wild species, from seafood to make-up, herbal medicines and teas. TRAFFIC engages companies and consumers, raising awareness and facilitating action towards sustainable and equitable trade, especially for wild-harvested plants, such as Jatamansi, frankincense, shea nut, liquorice and argan oil.
We also collaborate with the botanical gardens community, raising awareness and educating public on the importance of sustainable wild plant ingredients.
Enabling supply chain traceability
Trustworthy supply chains for legal and sustainable wild-harvested products must be traceable. TRAFFIC’s innovations include our SharkTrace tool, which has the potential to support traceability in UK fisheries, and a timber tracking system, which can provide assurance that wood products imported into the UK from participating countries have been sourced legally and sustainably.
Law enforcement advice and data
To help law enforcement, TRAFFIC manages the Europe Trade in Wildlife Information eXchanges (EU-TWIX). This system facilitates international co-operation and enables the exchange of actionable intelligence on wildlife trafficking. Across the UK and the rest of Europe, EU-TWIX connects over 1,400 law enforcement officials.
TRAFFIC partners with the National Wildlife Crime Unit, to help target its work on wildlife trafficking. For example, we draw on our expertise tackling online trade in wild animals and plants as part of the Priority Delivery Group on Cyber Enabled Wildlife Crime.
Currently wildlife crimes in England and Wales are non-notifiable offences: they are not reported to government for collation and analysis. British civil society and UNODC are among those that have raised concerns about the resulting lack of data on crime levels and trends. To address one part of this knowledge gap, TRAFFIC monitors CITES prosecutions in the UK, and shares the results though the Wildlife and Countryside Link Annual Wildlife Crime Report.
Supporting the UK’s role with CITES and CBD
TRAFFIC supports implementation of CITES in the UK in a number of ways, including as a member of the Wildlife Crime Conservation Advisory Group for the UK's CITES Scientific Authority for animals (the Joint Nature Conservation Committee). Through this group we assess wildlife crime risks and recommend priorities for concerted action.
We collaborate with the CITES Scientific Authority for plants (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew), for example, to understand the opportunities and barriers to sustainable, legal trade in CITES-listed medicinal and aromatic plants.
TRAFFIC’s analysis of trade data for European Eels influenced securing a trade ban in the EU, which the UK continues to apply. Further action on trade in European Eels is urgently needed.
We also support the UK government on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and advise on effective implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, including through the co-development of the 5-Dimensional Sustainable Use Assessment Framework.
© IISD ENB / Diego Noguera
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