International trade in animals not regulated by multilateral agreements is putting them under increasing threat. More than three times the number of unregulated animal species are being imported into the United States compared to the number of regulated species.
The trafficking of wildlife is becoming recognized as a specialized area of organized crime and a significant threat to the environment.
Increasing demand for food and traditional medicines, multiplying local wars and conflicts, an expanding legal and illegal market trade have exacerbated the wildlife crisis in recent years, damaging ecosystems and driving many species to the verge of extinction.
Poaching threatens wildlife conservation around the world, and it's a top concern in protected conservation areas and parks, where rangers patrol the wilderness in an effort to deter and document this kind of illegal activity.
For years, people have been predicting a pandemic could wipe out a large number of humans. The reason is simple: As our world population pushes toward 8 billion, it’s clear wildlife and natural systems cannot tolerate our abuses.
The vast illegal wildlife trade and humanity’s excessive intrusion into nature is to blame for the coronavirus pandemic, according to a leading US scientist who says “this is not nature’s revenge, we did it to ourselves”.
