Poaching American Security: Impacts of Illegal Wildlife Trade

Is it a problem?

Whenever I talk to people who are unfamiliar with the issue of illegal wildlife trade, they ask me, "Can this really be that serious a problem?"

Most people know that scores of animal species are endangered. What they assume is that species become endangered because of human population growth, which in turn leads to lost habitat and conflict between humans and animals.

All of this is true. These are the primary threats to wildlife. But in recent years, illegal trafficking has grown and now contributes much more significantly to the loss or threatened loss of our most precious wildlife. In fact, the illegal trade has brought us to a "tipping point" -- in other words, it is pushing many species over the edge to extinction.

In addition to the serious threats the trade presents to biodiversity, it is also important for other reasons. Wildlife trafficking poses health threats, as some diseases, such as avian influenza, SARS, the Ebola virus and tuberculosis, can jump from animals to humans, especially when those animals are removed from the wild and move in commerce.

Why Has the Trade Grown?

Once I convince people that this issue is important, they ask, "Why has the trade grown so dramatically?"

My response: among other factors, organized crime has discovered that this trade is very profitable. In some cases, it rivals the economic gains made from trafficking in drugs and weapons. As Newsweek put it in their most recent issue, endangered animals are the new "blood diamonds."

Mr. Chairman, the annual estimates of the dollar value of this trade are indeed staggering. Some put it at about $10 billion a year globally. And that is a conservative estimate.

Other estimates put it closer to $20 billion. The dollar figures are at this level because certain products command extremely high prices on the black market.

For example, a tiger skin is worth 16,000 dollars in China and up to 50,000 dollars internationally. One bottle of wine made from tiger bone – yes wine – sells from 40 dollars to over 100 dollars depending on the vintage. The rising demand for ivory has driven the price from 200 dollars per kilo in 2005 to more than 700 dollars per kilo this year.

The dollar figures are also high because of the sheer volume of animals flooding the market. Some examples: an estimated 25,000-40,000 primates alone are traded per year, some for pets, some for so-called "bushmeat." Two to three million birds – live birds – are for sale per year.

What is the U.S. doing?

Once I convince people of the problem and what causes it, they ask "What is the United States doing to stop it?"

Two years ago, we formed a partnership called the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking, or CAWT, to fight illegal wildlife trade.

We started in 2005 with five partners from the private sector. Our approach at that time was, and remains, that no one government or private group could combat this sophisticated criminal activity alone and hope to succeed.

Today, we have 19 partners, including Australia, Canada, Chile, India and the United Kingdom and 13 international non-governmental organizations dedicated to stamping out this illegal trade.

Through the Coalition, we seek, at the highest political levels, to end the trade by curbing both the supply and demand for illegal wildlife and wildlife products. We are educating consumers. We are also creating new international networks for effective law enforcement.

Mr. Chairman, I want to touch briefly on each part of our work, curbing supply through enforcement, curbing demand through awareness, and garnering high-level political attention for the issue.

Cutting Off Supply through Improved Law Enforcement

As one way to improve law enforcement, the Coalition worked with the 10 Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to establish a new regional wildlife enforcement network – ASEAN WEN.

ASEAN-WEN, in its brief existence, has already produced a string of impressive successes.

In one of the enforcement network’s first cooperative efforts, in October of 2006, the governments of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia worked in concert to successfully return to Indonesia 48 live orangutans that had been illegally smuggled into Thailand from their native habitat.

In January of this year, Thai enforcement officials seized the bodies of six tigers, three leopards and two extremely rare clouded leopards, as well as 275 live pangolins from a Thai village near the border with Laos. Most of the big cats had been cut in half and their organs removed.

These are only two of many, many examples of the work of ASEAN WEN. We have provided the Committee a longer list for the record.

The countries of South Asia are working with the U.S. and CAWT partner, Traffic International, to replicate the ASEAN- WEN success, first in South Asia and, we hope thereafter, in the Middle East and Africa.

Curbing Demand

Making a dent in organized crime through strengthened enforcement is only part of the solution. We must also work to stamp out demand for these products. The two biggest markets for illegal wildlife and wildlife products are China - #1 – and – right here in our own backyard – the United States, which is #2.

American consumers are buying these products when they travel, on the Internet, and sometimes even in shops here at home. In most cases, they think that what they are buying is perfectly legal.

We consider it the job of the United States government to let them know that this is not the case.

How can we do this?

In 2006 Secretary Rice named actress Bo Derek as her Special Envoy for Wildlife Trafficking issues. In that position, Ms. Derek has traveled extensively in the U.S. to make Americans aware of wildlife trafficking and the threat it poses. She has also traveled overseas to draw attention to the plight of endangered animals.

We also enlisted the help of Harrison Ford, who has for many years had a strong commitment to wildlife conservation. Last fall, Mr. Ford generously donated his time to film three public service announcements urging consumers – both in America and other countries – to stop buying illegal wildlife and wildlife products.

We plan to distribute these ads in the United States and internationally and hope that cruise ships and airlines will also show them to their passengers. At the conclusion of my statement, I would like to give the Committee members a sneak preview of one of these ads.

Generating Political Attention

Mr. Chairman, I want to say a word about what may be the most important job for the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking – that of getting governments and multilateral organizations to work to stop this trade at the very highest level.

Only when we do this will we truly take on the criminals. In its two years of work, CAWT has made great strides to generate this much-needed political attention.

Last year we worked closely with German ministers to include wildlife trafficking issues as part of the work of the G-8. It has also been on the agenda in summits between President Bush and the EU, India, and Brazil, to name a few.

Last year, we gained approval for a resolution of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that we hope will lead to concerted global action. With CAWT’s strong encouragement, Interpol has now devoted more resources to wildlife crime issues.

We have also worked to generate interest here on Capitol Hill especially among the International. Conservation Caucus. This hearing is but one example of the mounting interest in this issue.

Conclusion

Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, wildlife crime – like all organized crime – is a problem we must band together to stamp out. It involves all of us, in and out of government, in one form or another.

Wildlife trafficking is not just about saving animals from extinction – as vitally important as that is. It is also about promoting economic development and the rule of law, and protecting public health.

The effect wildlife trafficking has on the broader social fabric is often lost. It lowers the economic value of legally traded goods, contributes to poverty, and encourages lawlessness.

The United States has laid a foundation to combat it, but we have much work left to do. We need as many partners as are willing to join the battle. We especially welcome Congressional interest and active engagement in this issue.

Thank you for this opportunity to testify. I would be pleased to respond to any questions you may have. But before I close completely, Mr. Chairman, I would like to show you and the Committee members one example of our work, a public service announcement featuring Harrison Ford.

The State Department supplied the funding for the development, production, and placement for this ad, as well as finding our actor. Our CAWT partner Wild Aid supplied the creative idea and the scripts. The ad is one of three very powerful ones, all of which I hope speak for themselves.