Trends in Illegal Wildlife Trade: Analyzing Seizure Data in the Pacific Northwest

The illegal import of wildlife and wildlife products into the U.S. is a growing concern due to its far-reaching consequences and the growing evidence to support the fact that the U.S. is one of the world’s top leaders in the... [ view full abstract ]

The illegal import of wildlife and wildlife products into the U.S. is a growing concern due to its far-reaching consequences and the growing evidence to support the fact that the U.S. is one of the world’s top leaders in the consumption and transit of illegal wildlife and their derivatives. Yet, few studies have analyzed the illegal wildlife trade on a national or local scale. Therefore, this paper aims to contribute to the scholarly literature by analyzing wildlife seizures made at U.S. ports of entry in the Pacific Northwest between 1992 and 2016. Specifically, the following two questions are assessed: (1) How do the types of species seized compare across time and location and (2) How do personal baggage seizures compare with other types of seizures? This study finds that there is a significant different in the type of species across time and location and personal baggage seizures make up the majority of wildlife seizures in the Pacific Northwest. While wildlife seizures across taxonomic categories have decreased since 2008, other findings provide a reason for concern.