Conservationists demand closer scrutiny of global ‘legal’ wildlife trade

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Ben Williamson, programs director of World Animal Protection US, told The Independent that legal trade in wild animals, under the multilateral Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species treaty, provides cover for illegal trade. The Independent’s Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign, which was launched earlier this year, seeks an international effort to clamp down on poaching and the illegal trade of wild animals. World Animal Protection’s 2019 investigation into the international shipping of African Grey Parrots revealed the illegal trafficking of birds under cover of the legal trade, a practice that has caused a sharp decline in their wild populations. "Wildlife trade, whether legal or illegal, is one of the major contributors to declines in species, biodiversity, and human and animal health,” said Audrey Delsink, the South Africa- based wildlife director for Humane Society International.