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Directory · Wildlife trade and trafficking

Organisations Working Against Wildlife Trafficking

The main organisations working on wildlife trafficking include TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network run as a strategic alliance of WWF and IUCN, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Their work is monitoring, enforcement support and demand reduction rather than direct animal rescue — the illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth up to USD 23 billion a year.

How this list was assembled

Organisations verified before listing and selected for sustained work on the illegal wildlife trade at international scale. Not a ranking, not an endorsement, and not exhaustive — this facet is newer than the street dog one and will grow as further organisations are verified.

Listing status: Entries marked “WARN country guide” explain geographic context. They are not named organisations or confirmation of a paid grant. This page is not a ranking.

Wildlife trafficking is not primarily an animal rescue problem, which is why the organisations working on it look different from the ones running shelters. It is an organised crime problem with an enforcement gap, and the leverage sits in monitoring trade routes, supporting prosecutions and reducing the demand that funds the trade.

That means the most effective organisations in this space often never handle an animal. TRAFFIC produces the trade analysis that enforcement agencies act on. Others fund the rangers, the sniffer dogs and the court cases.

Rescue matters at the end of that chain — confiscated animals need somewhere to go — and it is where WARN's own funding sits.

7 organisations

WARN country guide Cambodia

Cambodia

Animal-welfare context and related WARN appeals for Cambodia. A country guide is not evidence that a grant has been made.

  • Sun bear
  • Asian elephant
  • Sunda pangolin
WARN country guide Colombia

Colombia

Animal-welfare context and related WARN appeals for Colombia. A country guide is not evidence that a grant has been made.

  • Scarlet macaw
  • Spectacled (Andean) bear
  • Jaguar
WARN country guide Malaysia

Malaysia

Animal-welfare context and related WARN appeals for Malaysia. A country guide is not evidence that a grant has been made.

  • Bornean orangutan
  • Sun bear
  • Sunda pangolin
WARN country guide Peru

Peru

Animal-welfare context and related WARN appeals for Peru. A country guide is not evidence that a grant has been made.

  • Scarlet macaw
  • Spectacled (Andean) bear
  • Capuchin monkey (multiple species)
WARN country guide Vietnam

Vietnam

Animal-welfare context and related WARN appeals for Vietnam. A country guide is not evidence that a grant has been made.

  • Moon bear (Asiatic black bear)
  • Sun bear
  • Sunda pangolin
Independent organisation United Kingdom, operating internationally

TRAFFIC

The wildlife trade monitoring network, a strategic alliance of WWF and IUCN. TRAFFIC investigates and analyses wildlife trade trends, supports government enforcement action and works on consumer demand reduction.

  • Wildlife trade monitoring
  • Enforcement support
  • Demand reduction
Independent organisation United States, operating internationally

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

A conservation organisation working across field sites worldwide, including on wildlife crime and trafficking alongside TRAFFIC, BirdLife International and Fauna & Flora International.

  • Field conservation
  • Wildlife crime
  • Protected areas

Listing is not endorsement. WARN has no relationship with the independent organisations above, funds none of them, does not inspect them and receives nothing for listing them. They are here because someone asking this question needs real names, and WARN is not the only answer to it.

Organisations Working Against Wildlife Trafficking: frequently asked questions

Which charities work against wildlife trafficking?
TRAFFIC is the specialist wildlife trade monitoring network, operating as a strategic alliance of WWF and IUCN. The Wildlife Conservation Society works on wildlife crime alongside TRAFFIC, BirdLife International and Fauna & Flora International. WARN funds rescue and rehabilitation for confiscated animals at the receiving end of the trade.
How big is the illegal wildlife trade?
Estimated at up to USD 23 billion a year, which places it among the most profitable criminal activities worldwide. Almost every country plays some role in it, as a source, a transit route or a consumer market.
What actually reduces wildlife trafficking?
Three things in combination: enforcement that makes trafficking risky, trade monitoring that tells enforcement where to look, and demand reduction in consumer markets. Rescue of confiscated animals is necessary and humane but does not reduce the trade by itself.