In less than 50 years, we've seen a decline of 60% in population sizes of vertebrate species. Illegal wildlife trade directly threatens the survival of many species in the wild, where tigers are poached for their body parts, pangolins for their scales and elephants for their tusks. Many other species are also exploited, from rare wild birds to marine turtles.
Wildlife trade involves hundreds of millions of wild plants and animals from tens of thousands of species.
Human life depends on the existence of a functioning planet Earth. Careful and thoughtful use of wildlife species and their habitats is required to avoid not only extinction, but serious disturbances to the complex web of life.
WWF's range of expertise ensures that the threats to the environment from wildlife trade are tackled from an informed and global standpoint: