Wildlife crime: terms and definitions

Social and behaviour change communication (SBCC)

Combating wildlife crime is a complex challenge that relies upon collaboration, education, communication, and awareness raising. To treat the symptoms of the wildlife trade, such as poaching, we must address the root causes, including the demand for animal products. This is the core of social and behaviour change communication (SBCC).

Our China Wildlife Free Traveler campaign is an example of SBCC. The campaign was designed to discourage Chinese citizens from purchasing illegal wildlife products during travel. Of people who saw the campaign, 96% said they had no intention to consume wildlife products in future, and 95% said they found it unacceptable for friends or family to do so.

Trafficking hubs

Trafficking hubs are places through which illegal animals and their parts pass on their way from traffickers to customers. These are not necessarily in the same locations where animals or parts were acquired and can be geographically distant from the place of origin.

Southern California is a large hub for the trade and distribution of wildlife and parts. IFAW is working with the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to establish a confiscation network to reclaim illegally traded wildlife.

Our recent research into wildlife trafficking in Hispanic America explores 1,945 trafficking and poaching incidents over a six-year period to discover key trafficking hotspots, routes, methods, and targeted species.

The EU is another crucial transit hub for the illegal wildlife trade. So, IFAW championed the European Wildlife Action Plan and the Global Wildlife Cybercrime Action Plan. Together, these regulations are helping to reduce wildlife trade in the region.

Wildlife confiscation

Wildlife confiscation refers to stopping wildlife trafficking by intercepting traffickers and liberating any animals or animal parts in their possession. This is often done at specific checkpoints, like airports or ports, trafficking hubs (if they can be identified), or on-site where animals are being killed or captured.

Live seizures and confiscations refer specifically to the confiscation of living animals from traffickers. Live animals often can't be returned to the wild after being confiscated from traffickers. They are often injured and traumatised and need veterinary care and rehabilitation. They may also be far from home, depending on where the traffickers were intercepted, and need to be transported long distances back to their natural habitats.

Ensuring confiscation teams can operate effectively requires that they have the tools and training they need. That's why IFAW, along with our partners Jakarta Animal Aid Network and the Jane Goodall Institute, have created confiscation kits for more than 200 frontline officers in trafficking hotspots in Guyana, Indonesia, and the Congo. We've also worked to support capacity building, training, and coordination among agencies to enable the exchange of intelligence.

IFAW developed a specialised capacity building workshop called Detecting Illegal Species through Prevention Training (DISRUPT). Since 2007, this workshop has provided local authorities with the essential knowledge and expertise to stop wildlife trafficking and to implement CITES. DISRUPT is a customs and enforcement training programme on illegally traded species with thousands of participants trained in over 100 courses across 40 countries.

Dogs can also help us with wildlife confiscation when they're trained to detect wildlife crime. IFAW's Detection Dogs project trains dogs to work with frontline officers in this way.