Differentiating criminal networks in the illegal wildlife trade: organized, corporate and disorganized crime

Abstract

Historically, the poaching of wildlife was portrayed as a small-scale local activity in which only small numbers of wildlife would be smuggled illegally by collectors or opportunists. Nowadays, this image has changed: criminal networks are believed to be highly involved in wildlife trafficking, which has become a significant area of illicit activity. Even though wildlife trafficking has become accepted as a major area of crime and an important topic and criminologists have examined a variety of illegal wildlife markets, research that specifically focusses on the involvement of different criminal networks and their specific nature is lacking. The concept of a 'criminal network' or 'serious organized crime' is amorphousgetting used interchangeably and describes all crime that is structured rather than solely reflecting crime that fits within normative definitions of 'organized' crime. In reality, criminal networks are diverse. As such, we propose categories of criminal networks that are evidenced in the literature and within our own fieldwork: (1) organized crime groups (2) corporate crime groups and (3) disorganized criminal networks. Whereas there are instances when these groups act alone, this article will (also) discuss the overlap and interaction that occurs between our proposed categories and discuss the complicated nature of the involved criminal networks as well as predictions as to the future of these networks.

Understanding wildlife crime in China: Socio-demographic profiling and motivation of offenders

“…Our data, however, indicated the opposite effect for ‘skilled’ wildlife crime categories, such as smuggling. The majority of ivory [ 44 , 59 ], pangolin [ 2 ] and rhino horn [ 40 ] trade originates outside of China, therefore smugglers require better management, organization, internet and/ or computer skills (associated with higher education) than do agricultural hunters [ 60 ]. These skills enable offenders with higher schooling to negotiate illicit international trade deals, while attempting to evade detection [ 61 , 62 ].…”

“…According to the definition of criminal groups given by Wyatt et al [ 60 ], only 0.9% of offences were committed by corporate or organized crime. Nevertheless, the scale and international reach of these cartels has scope to significantly impact national and global biodiversity [ 76 ]: for example, between 2013–2014 an unlicensed company in Guangxi Province was prosecuted for smuggling 4,195 pangolins from Vietnam.…”

Taking a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: Preventing the future outbreaks of viral zoonoses through a multi-faceted approach

“…Among them, the Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok (Thailand) is a place of especially intensive trade in various wild animals or/and their parts (often endangered and threatened species such as tigers Panthera tigris L., Asian bears and rhinos). This place is also a source of distribution of wild animals and their parts to almost every region of the world ( van Uhm and Wong, 2019 ; Veríssimo et al, 2012 ; Wyatt et al, 2020 ). At the same time, research into illegal wildlife trade in the region, and especially in China, is scarce ( Petrossian et al, 2016 ; van Uhm, 2016a , van Uhm, 2016b ; van Uhm and Wong, 2019 ; Wong, 2015a , Wong, 2015b ).…”

Surviving the Wildlife Trade in Southeast Asia: Reforming the ‘Disposal’ of Confiscated Live Animals under CITES

“…Wildlife crime is defined as 'the taking, trading, exploiting or possessing of the world's wild flora and fauna in contravention of national and international laws' [27]. Wildlife trafficking is one of the most profitable illicit industries but despite global attention and increased policy against illegal sales, scientists have yet to describe the scope and scale of the trade [28]. The elusiveness of the trade makes it nearly impossible to accurately estimate its monetary value, but the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) estimates it is worth at least USD 20 billion a year [27].…”