Crime busters: how to combat wildlife criminals
Elephants killed for tusks, pangolins trafficked for scales, grey parrots sold as pets. Wild crime needs tougher rules and global action. Our EU Policy Officer Elodie Cantaloube outlines Born Free’s path for decisive action.
An African grey parrot (c) Ralph from Pixabay
From the poaching of elephants for ivory, to the illegal trade of endangered animal and plant species for food, medicine, and the exotic pet market, wildlife crime continues to rise while remaining vastly under-prosecuted.
Elodie Cantaloube
Viewed by criminals as high-profit and low-risk, these offenses frequently cross-national borders, necessitating a coordinated international response and more stringent legal penalties.
Born Free in action
Born Free has been actively engaged in shaping several recent regional and international legal initiatives. These aim to combat wildlife crime and wider crimes against the environment. However, whether these measures will be enough to effectively deter criminals will depend on the degree to which they are effectively implemented and enforced.
Both of these remain uncertain, particularly in today’s geopolitical climate where nature protection seems to be taking a backseat. This is why we continue to advocate relentlessly for strong assurances that these crimes are treated with the gravity they deserve, and for governments to allocate the necessary resources to effectively combat them.
New EU Crime Directive
Last year, the European Union adopted a new Environmental Crime Directive. This increases sanctions for the most serious environmental offenses, including the killing, possession, and trafficking of protected wildlife. The EU is a major hub for trafficked wildlife, so this Directive represents a significant step forward for wildlife protection.
The Directive not only strengthens penalties against criminals, but also enhances the resources, training, and investigative tools available to authorities. It establishes systems to facilitate intra- and inter-state cooperation within and outside the EU to tackle these crimes.
Urging Europe to act
Nevertheless, while the Directive is binding, EU Member States have some flexibility in how they transpose it into their national law by May 2026. The previous Directive, which this one replaces, was never fully implemented or enforced.
Together with like-minded organisations, we successfully secured the adoption of a range of provisions that will facilitate its enforcement. We are now focused on supporting Member States with the transposition process. We’re urging them to exceed the Directive’s minimum requirements and ensure the necessary resources, training, and cooperation mechanisms are in place at both national and EU levels.
International Convention to combat crime
In parallel, we closely followed the development of an international Convention. This is aimed at combatting environmental crime through criminal law within the Council of Europe, which we anticipate will be adopted soon. The Convention will be open to ratification by any country in the world.
This could significantly improve national and regional efforts by harmonising the list of criminal environmental offenses, and by establishing a framework for enhanced international cooperation.
However, for this to be effective, we must ensure it does not suffer the same fate as its predecessor, which was only ratified by two countries. Born Free and our partners will advocate for its widespread ratification, while emphasising the importance of global recognition – wildlife and environmental crimes should be considered serious crimes among decision-makers.
New UN protocol?
Additionally, Born Free, under the umbrella of the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, is advocating for the adoption of a dedicated international instrument, under the United Nations framework, to combat wildlife trafficking. A new protocol under the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) would not only raise global awareness, but it would also leverage existing UN tools and mechanisms to address the issue more effectively.
While significant progress is being made, wildlife crime remains a complex, cross-border challenge. It demands sustained international collaboration, stronger enforcement, and political will. Born Free will continue working to ensure that these legislative efforts translate into meaningful action to protect wildlife and combat environmental crime at a global scale.