Poaching of wild animals for their body parts to support the pseudo medicinal demands and ivory demands of the Asian community has become the concern of the global community now. Trafficking wild animals to support the demand for these animals in the U.S. is another cause for concern. The problem is huge and needs global involvement to put an end to it.

The countries where the poaching is taking place are way over their ability to deal with it. Elephants are being illegally killed across Africa at the highest rates in a decade and over 500 Rhinos have been killed in just 2012 for their horns. Only 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, and of those, probably only 1000 are breeding females.

On November 8, 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech at the Partnership Meeting on Wildlife Trafficking at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., that called for a global strategy to protect wildlife in their own environments and to begin to end the demand for the the trafficked wildlife goods.

In her speech, Hillary Clinton said, “I’m calling for the creation of a global system of regional wildlife enforcement networks to take advantage of those networks that already are operating and the lessons we have learned from them. The sooner we get this off the ground, the better, and to that end, the State Department is pledging $100,000 to help get this new global system up and running. I regret to say the United States is the second-largest destination market for illegally trafficked wildlife in the world.”

She went on to say that there was a great need for the international community to join together in this fight. "Therefore, we need governments, civil society, businesses, scientists, and activists to come together to educate people about the harms of wildlife trafficking. We need law enforcement personnel to prevent poachers from preying on wildlife. We need trade experts to track the movement of goods and help enforce existing trade laws. We need finance experts to study and help undermine the black markets that deal in wildlife. And most importantly, perhaps, we need to reach individuals, to convince them to make the right choices about the goods they purchase.”

With these goals in mind, Secretary Clinton said, the State Department is pursuing a four-part strategy:


First, on the diplomatic front, the U.S. is working with leaders from around the world to develop a global consensus on wildlife protection.

Second, they are reaching beyond governments to enlist the support of people.

Third, consists of launching new initiatives to strengthen and expand enforcement areas.

Fourth, because this is a global issue, it calls, therefore, for a concerted global response. Hope is that every government and organization at the meeting would join the Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking.

Wildlife trafficking is now among the world’s most lucrative illicit economies, second only to illegal drugs and human trafficking. Cristián Samper, President and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), has stated that, “Illegal trade in wildlife, timber and fisheries is estimated to be fueling illicit economies around the world at approximately $10-15 billion annually."

A big concern behind all this illegal activity is also one of global safety in addition to the possible extinction of very endangered animals. Secretary Clinton acknowledged that, "Where criminal gangs can come and go at their total discretion, we know that begins to provide safe havens for other sorts of threats to people and governments.” The video below is Hillary Clinton's speech in it's entirety.