The European Union continues to be a main hub and destination for
stolen wildlife from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia
and Oceania. A new report released today by Pro Wildlife, Humane
Society International and International Fund for Animal Welfare
(IFAW), Stolen Wildlife: The EU – a
destination for wildlife traffickers, exposes
European complicity in this illegal trade. EU citizens are not
only involved in the smuggling of nationally protected wildlife,
but helping to perpetuate the market for these
animals.
While the European Union is one of the biggest importers of
animals destined for the exotic pet trade, only a very small
fraction of the species in this trade are actually covered by
international and/or EU legislation. However, many species in
trade, which are protected in non-EU countries under domestic
legislation, have nonetheless been caught in the wild and
exported in violation of the country of origin’s national law.
This is the case with the Philippine sailfin lizard and the glass
frog species from Latin America, popular targets in the exotic
trade at present.
Dr Sandra Altherr, Head of Science at Pro Wildlife, says: “In
their quest to own unique wild animals, wealthy exotic pet
keepers in Europe are driving the global trafficking of rare
species. Wildlife smugglers are openly selling illegally acquired
animals at European trade shows in the full knowledge that they
can get away with it because of the loopholes in the EU
legislation. With each rare lizard fetching up to thousands of
Euros, big money can be made with virtually no legal risks.”
Ilaria Silvestre, Head of EU Policy & Campaigns at IFAW says:
“The Internet is a major channel for directly connecting traders
and clients from all over the world. It is the ideal platform for
criminal animal traders. The online trafficking of protected
species, which is partly fuelled by the promotion of exotic pet
ownership and interactions on social media, poses a huge
challenge for enforcement authorities. Illegal wildlife trade,
both online and in physical markets, is increasingly targeting
rare wild species that are not protected by the EU legislation,
and this is a contributor to the catastrophic biodiversity loss
seen globally.”
Dr Joanna Swabe, senior director of public affairs for Humane
Society International/Europe says: “It is time for the EU to act.
Its recent Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 shared many good words
about halting global biodiversity loss. Now it must turn those
words into concrete deeds. The European Commission will soon
deliver its revised Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking.
This is a golden opportunity to tackle this form of illegal
wildlife trade and to develop supplementary legislation to
criminalise the trade in wildlife taken for the pet trade
in violation of other country’s laws.”
Stolen Wildlife: The EU – a destination for wildlife
traffickers provides detailed case studies from Cuba,
Brazil, Morocco, South Africa and the Philippines, it also
provides an overview of attempts made by range states to protect
their unique biodiversity, for example, by tabling several
proposals for the upcoming CITES Conference of Parties meeting in
Panama to restrict the international trade in their endemic
species.
The three animal and wildlife protection organisations are
calling for EU action to introduce a law to prohibit the
import, sale, purchase and possession of wildlife that has been
illegally sourced in its country of origin. This demand has also
been repeatedly backed by the European Parliament over the past
few years, in several adopted resolutions that urge the European
Commission to deliver such legislation.
