Study: Airports still weak link in preventing illegal animal trafficking

Criminal organizations that smuggle endangered animals and animal products are exploiting security vulnerabilities at large hub airports, according to a new study conducted in collaboration with the U.S. government, the transportation sector and more than 20 other partners.

One weakness in particular, lack of communication, is allowing smugglers to stay one step ahead of enforcement.

“Airlines are rarely informed if there has been a wildlife seizure from a passenger or cargo shipment carried by their aircraft,” explained Jon Godson, IATA’s assistant director of the aviation environment. “Data like this can demonstrate not only high-risk routes, species and concealment methods, but also the truly global nature of this exploitation.”

The report, “Flying Under the Radar: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector,” produced by C4ADS as part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species (ROUTES) Partnership, analyzed airport seizures of ivory, rhino horn, birds and reptiles from January 2009 to August 2016.

The consortium of organizations called on both the private sector and law enforcement to close security loopholes by stepping up screening and enforcement, and also by improving information sharing. The report recommended that countries, “store collected seizure information in one centralized database in each country.” It also suggested that enforcement “publicly release non-sensitive seizure information,” to facilitate a concerted response across the board.

One interesting discovery was an overall decline in seizures, which the authors of the report ascribe to, “steadily increasing media and public focus on wildlife trafficking, rather than an actual pattern in trafficking activity.” A decline in seizures could indicate that traffickers have grown more successful at evading authorities, or perhaps even that authorities are reducing prevention efforts.

Another conclusion was that China, largely due to its role in the ivory trade, remains the biggest offender. Up next are Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The United States ranked tenth on the worst offenders list.

The report concludes that wildlife trafficking is a global problem that takes advantage of systemic weaknesses to move illicit products through the legitimate transportation system. As demand for international travel continues to rise, the report urges stakeholders to step up enforcement and “make immediate changes to better stem the international flow of illicit wildlife.”