US Government Sponsors Training to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade

Representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the NGO TRAFFIC East Asia are sponsoring a training seminar on wildlife trade for members of Mongolia’s Customs and Inspections Agencies, December 4-6.  The trainers are reviewing tools and techniques that enforcement officers can use to combat illegal wildlife trade.  Topics of discussion include common smuggling techniques and ways to foil them; conducting undercover investigations and surveillance; vehicle and cargo inspections; evidence handling; and disposal and disposition of seized wildlife.  This seminar, along with meetings USFWS and TRAFFIC representatives held with Mongolian counterparts last week, is part of an ongoing U.S. government program to build a global coalition against wildlife trafficking.

Wildlife trafficking is a global problem.  Countries combat global trafficking as one of the key threats to the continued viability of their native species.  Through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the global community safeguards more than 30,000 different animal and plant species. That number has increased by more than 75 percent since the early 1990s.  Some species are in demand for traditional medicine or pets while others are consumed as food delicacies or fashioned into high-priced “art” or other products.  One common trait is the opportunity for poachers, middlemen, and retailers to reap significant monetary gain.

Many species of Mongolia's wildlife are now under imminent threat of national extinction due to the demand for wildlife products such as saiga antelope horns, red deer antlers, bear parts, skins and furs, and birds of prey.  The illegal wildlife trade has caused significant decreases in wildlife species in Mongolia (many by 75-90% in just the last 15 years), and threatens the integrity and survival of Mongolia's wildlife, ecosystem, and the rural populations dependent upon the fragile steppe ecosystem for survival.

Through the training, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and TRAFFIC East Asia hope to impart Mongolian Customs and Inspection agents with skills considered "international best practice" in wildlife protection and enforcement that will allow them to reduce habitat encroachment, poaching, illegal wildlife trade within Mongolia, illegal exports of Mongolia's wildlife across its borders, and more effectively meet Mongolia’s obligations in preventing illegal wildlife trade under CITES.