Collecting evidence, sharing information, and ensuring justice
Wildlife crime operates at an industrial scale, impacting ecosystems and communities across the globe. The Wildlife Justice Commission’s mission is to disrupt and dismantle the transnational criminal networks trafficking wildlife, timber, and fish by collecting evidence and turning it into accountability, so that organised crime is no longer driving species to extinction.
Through intelligence analysis, undercover investigations, and close collaboration with law enforcement, we support the identification, arrest, and conviction of high-level traffickers.
Working with partners worldwide — including law enforcement agencies, intergovernmental organisations, and NGOs — we share actionable intelligence, insights into emerging trafficking trends, and confidential evidence to support enforcement action.
Through this approach, we help ensure that intelligence leads to enforcement, and enforcement delivers real impact against organised wildlife crime.
Our early accountability model
Wildlife Justice was established to bring the full force of criminal law to bear on wildlife trafficking, treating it with the same seriousness as other forms of transnational organised crime.
In our early years, our model focused on building detailed Case Files mapping criminal networks and sharing this evidence with national authorities to encourage enforcement action. If action was not taken or was insufficient, we could, as a last resort, convene a Public Hearing to hold governments accountable.
In 2016, we held our first and only Public Hearing following an investigation into trafficking networks operating in Vietnam. Shortly afterwards, Vietnamese authorities arrested and indicted several suspects, including a high-level rhino horn trafficker. The hearing helped catalyse a shift in Vietnam’s approach to wildlife crime. The deterrent effect of our Public Hearing reinforced the impact of this model, demonstrating that even a single hearing can drive meaningful change without the need for repeated proceedings.
A Case File is a detailed, actionable document mapping out criminal networks and their illicit activities, which is shared with national authorities for immediate use. Each Case File is affirmed by a member of the Wildlife Justice Commission Independent Review Panel before it is delivered to the relevant authorities.
A Public Hearing is a powerful tool for accountability: it aims to persuade the relevant government to act upon the evidence provided and validates our Case File through review by an independent, impartial panel of experts, which submits recommendations for how best to ensure justice for wildlife.
Our approach today
Today, Wildlife Justice operates with an intelligence-led model, working directly with law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and disrupt transnational wildlife trafficking networks.
Through undercover investigations, operational support, and targeted training programmes, we help drive arrests and convictions while strengthening the capability of authorities to combat wildlife crime. Our evidence also informs global policy discussions, helping to elevate wildlife crime on the international agenda and build the political will needed to tackle it effectively.
