The Transnational Illegal Wildlife Trade

Abstract

Transnational crime — the illicit procurement, transportation and distribution of commodities across international borders — is an area of increasing interest for criminologists. Most of the current research focuses on drug trafficking, human smuggling and money laundering. However, one serious type of transnational crime, the large scale exploitation and theft of natural resources, has yet to be studied by criminologists in detail. This research note reports the results of a descriptive criminological analysis of a specific kind of transnational criminality involving the theft of natural resources – the transnational illegal wildlife trade. The findings include a description of the organization and operation of the illicit wildlife market and profiles of the participants and their motivations and methods.

Keywords:

• Poaching
• Wildlife
• Transnational Crime
• Ivory
• Poachers
• Traditional Medicines

Notes

Greg L. Warchol, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminial Justice at the Northern Michigan University. Correspondence to: Greg L. Warchol, Dept. of Criminal Justice, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI 49855, USA. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Greg L. Warchol

Greg L. Warchol, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminial Justice at the Northern Michigan University. Correspondence to: Greg L. Warchol, Dept. of Criminal Justice, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI 49855, USA. Email: [email protected]