Wildlife Trafficking

Wildlife Trafficking in 2013

United States views on international law [1] in relation to Wildlife Trafficking: On July 1, 2013, President Obama issued Executive Order 13648 on Combating Wildlife Trafficking. 78 Fed. Reg. 40,621 (July 5, 2013). Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Order establish and describe the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking (“Task Force”), an interagency group charged with developing a National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking. Section 5 of the Order calls for the creation of an Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking (“Advisory Council”) to assist the Task Force. Section 1 of the Order, set forth below, describes U.S. government policy with respect to wildlife trafficking.

Some Aspects of Wildlife Trafficking

The poaching of protected species and the illegal trade in wildlife and their derivative parts and products (together known as “wildlife trafficking”) represent an international crisis that continues to escalate. Poaching operations have expanded beyond small-scale, opportunistic actions to coordinated slaughter commissioned by armed and organized criminal syndicates. The survival of protected wildlife species such as elephants, rhinos, great apes, tigers, sharks, tuna, and turtles has beneficial economic, social, and environmental impacts that are important to all nations. Wildlife trafficking reduces those benefits while generating billions of dollars in illicit revenues each year, contributing to the illegal economy, fueling instability, and undermining security. Also, the prevention of trafficking of live animals helps us control the spread of emerging infectious diseases. For these reasons, it is in the national interest of the United States to combat wildlife trafficking.

Developments

In order to enhance domestic efforts to combat wildlife trafficking, to assist foreign nations in building capacity to combat wildlife trafficking, and to assist in combating transnational organized crime, executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall take all appropriate actions within their authority, including the promulgation of rules and regulations and the provision of technical and financial assistance, to combat wildlife trafficking in accordance with the following objectives:

(a) in appropriate cases, the United States shall seek to assist those governments in antiwildlife trafficking activities when requested by foreign nations experiencing trafficking of protected wildlife;

(b) the United States shall promote and encourage the development and enforcement by foreign nations of effective laws to prohibit the illegal taking of, and trade in, these species and to prosecute those who engage in wildlife trafficking, including by building capacity;

(c) in concert with the international community and partner organizations, the United States shall seek to combat wildlife trafficking; and

(d) the United States shall seek to reduce the demand for illegally traded wildlife, both at home and abroad, while allowing legal and legitimate commerce involving wildlife.

Details

The White House released a fact sheet, available at (President's Subdomain) whitehouse.gov/thepress-office/2013/07/01/fact-sheet-us-efforts-combat-wildlife-trafficking, announcing the Executive Order and summarizing other actions to address wildlife trafficking. Among those actions described in the fact sheet is the use of the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program to combat perpetrators of wildlife trafficking. For a discussion of the first reward offer relating to a transnational criminal organization involved in wildlife trafficking, see Chapter 3.B.4.a.

More

On July 2, 2013, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”) welcomed the issuance of the U.S. Executive Order on Combating Wildlife Trafficking. See CITES news release, available at (link resource) cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20130702_us_eo.php.

More

On July 29, 2013, the first meeting of the Task Force established by E.O. 13,648 convened at the State Department. As described in a State Department media note available at (link resource) (Secretary of State website) state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/07/212551.htm, the meeting included Robert D. Hormats, Under U.S. Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment; Robert G. Dreher, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; Daniel M. Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior; and representatives from 18 other U.S. government agencies.

Resources

Notes

1. Wildlife Trafficking in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law