Wildlife Crime: Issues and Promising Solutions

The poaching of wildlife for profit, pleasure, subsistence, or as a result of human–animal conflict has decimated wildlife populations—particularly those of at-risk species. Given the ease of poaching wildlife throughout the world and the significant demand for specific species and their derivatives, wildlife trafficking is among the most profitable illicit transnational industries [1]. Seizure and government reports have shown a steady increase in wildlife trafficking, and many of the most endangered species continue to experience population declines. Despite technological advancements to detect and prevent poaching and trafficking, the current approaches to curb the trade have had limited success or are not working. This Special Issue on “Wildlife Crime: Issues and Promising Solutions” had a broad objective of soliciting empirical research on the nature of the illegal wildlife trade; novel solutions to track, prove, and prevent wildlife crime; and evaluative research on enacted legislation. It offers six new research studies thanks to 34 authors from 14 institutions based in North America, Europe, and Australia. Altogether, this volume of work is an effort to contribute to our understanding of how the illicit trade operates and provide viable solutions to mitigate threats to protected wildlife.