To stop poaching, follow the money - not the animal

The hidden driver behind this trade is a basic one: the pursuit of profit. For each of these trafficked animals, money changes hands - across the palms of corrupt officials, between those involved in the trade on the ground and on the internet. Yet these money flows are often overlooked in the fight to curb the illegal wildlife trade. Rather than "follow the money", the most common approach remains that of "follow the animal". This is despite the huge figures involved.

Although impossible to calculate precisely, the illegal wildlife trade has been valued at somewhere between $7bn (£5.4bn) and $23bn (£17.6bn) a year.

Part of the reason for this is that tracking the money linked to the illegal wildlife trade requires expertise and sufficient resources - something that is lacking in many countries. Financial investigations also require many different parties to work together. This might include wildlife agencies, financial intelligence units and asset recovery units - some of whom are not used to talking to each other.

In most cases involving the illegal wildlife trade, convictions are secured by proving possession of animals, or their parts. These are crimes that often result in only minimal penalties - fines and short prison sentences - making it a relatively low-risk activity. It often remains the case that "success" is measured in terms of yearly figures for seizures of banned wildlife products. This contrasts sharply with other international crimes, such as drug-trafficking, where financial investigations and the seizure of money and other assets are priorities.

Promisingly, some recent efforts have been made to disrupt the flow of money. For example, in Uganda three people were charged following the seizure of 1.3 tonnes of ivory in 2017. They were charged not only with unlawful possession of protected species, but also with money laundering - involving the transfer of $190,000 between accounts in Laos and Uganda. And in 2014, Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office led an investigation into a syndicate trafficking wildlife from Thailand to China. The investigation resulted in the seizure of assets worth more than $36m.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45784627