The illegal trade in wildlife threatens the survival of individual species, removes resources from vulnerable peoples, and undermines the rule of law of nation-states. Current approaches to counter wildlife trafficking rely heavily on traditional law enforcement deterrence strategies that focus on punishing offenders. Despite this favored approach, there is limited evidence assessing the effectiveness of such strategies with metrics commonly related to rates of arrest or convictions rather than the actual effectiveness of these in reducing wildlife crime. 

OUR APPROACH: The study of wildlife trafficking has traditionally been undertaken by conservation scientists, ecologists, and natural resource managers concerned with impacts on  conservation. Social scientists have also begun to examine wildlife crime through a social lens. These disparate specialist fields rarely work together, resulting in an absence of context. 

This working group brings together conservation scientists, social scientists, crime scientists, and practitioners from both government, inter-government, and non-government organizations for the assessment of wildlife trafficking case studies. The group will apply a mixed-methods approach to systematically review available empirical research and relevant materials. Applying a multi-disciplinary lens will add significant value to the assessment process in determining the potential for different deterrence strategies in stemming wildlife trafficking.