This annual update covers the second year of the Wildlife Crime Initiative from July 2015-June 2016. 

The current elephant poaching crisis costs African countries around $25 million annually in lost tourism revenue, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications. Comparing this lost revenue with the cost of halting declines in elephant populations due to poaching, the study determines that investment in elephant conservation is economically favorable across the majority of African elephants’ range.

This rapid assessment by TRAFFIC of domestic ivory markets in the U.S. finds that state bans seem to be having an impact on reducing the open availability of elephant ivory in formerly significant urban markets.

WWF and TRAFFIC believe that an ivory trade ban in China is feasible and could be effective in contributing to a reduction in current threats to African elephants. Such an ambitious and achievable act could garner positive exposure for China's responsible action on a critical wildlife conservation issue and become a positive influence on other countries' efforts to tackle the illicit ivory trade. 

Since CoP16, international momentum has been building against wildlife crime, with a raft of global declarations and commitments to tackle poaching and wildlife trafficking. This report outlines WWF's stance on African elephant issues at CoP17. 

Since CoP16, international momentum has been building against wildlife crime, with a raft of global declarations and commitments to tackle poaching and wildlife trafficking. CoP17 represents an opportunity to put these commitments into action through strong measures on wildlife crime, corruption, demand reduction and compliance. 

A new report by WWF-Hong Kong reveals seven fundamental weaknesses in the regulation of Hong Kong's legal ivory market, which facilitate illegal activities such as the smuggling of ivory from poached elephants in Africa and the laundering of illegal ivory with the city’s legal ivory stock.

This factsheet provides an overview of the Wildlife Crime Technology Project, which focuses on research, development and implementation of a suite of technologies to detect and deter poaching. This work was made possible through a Global Impact Award from Google in 2012.

Monthly monitoring of Bangkok’s domestic ivory market by TRAFFIC reveals a near trebling of the number of ivory items for sale in the past 18 months and a steep rise in the number of outlets selling ivory in Thailand's capital city.

The National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking establishes guiding principles and strategic priorities for US efforts to stem illegal trade in wildlife.

An updated analysis of tiger seizures from 12 tiger range countries (2000-2012)

In 2010, TRAFFIC produced Reduced to Skin and Bones: An Analysis of Tiger Seizures from 11 Tiger Range Countries (2000-2010) (Verheij, 2010). The purpose of the present report is to provide an updated situational analysis of the current illegal Tiger Pantherea tigris trade picture and to gain an improved understanding of one of the greatest threats to the Tiger's survival. This report also aims ot illustrate the need, use, practicability and direction that can be gained from the central collation and analysis of seizure data. Its conclusions outline the need for Tiger range and consumer countries to agree on and adhere to a standardized format for sharing and reporting data on poaching and illegal trade.

In this region almost all wildlife trade is illegal and unsustainable, driven by voracious consumer demand.

Attention to wildlife crime is increasingly being elevated to higher political levels through a number of potentially powerful initiatives such as the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) and INTERPOL’s Project Predator. There are some strong developments in regional enforcement networking in South Asia and Central America. There is a growing recognition that wildlife trade is a driver of positive and negative impacts for wildlife conservation and that the significance of the impacts cannot be ignored.

The international ivory trade remains one of the world’s most controversial wildlife trade issues. In recent decades, public attention has focused primarily on trade in ivory derived from the African Elephant Loxodonta africana.

An undercover survey of traditional Chinese medicine shops in New York City and San Francisco found that illegal products made from endangered species are widely available.