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The worldwide impact of wildlife trafficking

Stuffed lion
A stuffed lion's head is displayed at a news conference at JFK international Airport, Monday, June 16, 2014 in New York to highlight efforts by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Fish and Wildlife to deter illegal trafficking in wildlife. The items displayed were seized from baggage and cargo arriving at the airport. The government is cracking down on the illegal trafficking, saying some of its import-export activity may be linked to terrorists.
Mark Lennihan/AP

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Wildlife trafficking is on the rise, and extremely profitable. According to a piece in the New York Times Magazine, it brings in about $19 billion dollars a year:

Stuffed pangolin
A stuffed pangolin is displayed at a news conference at JFK international Airport, Monday, June 16, 2014 in New York to highlight efforts by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Fish and Wildlife to deter illegal trafficking in wildlife. The animals displayed at the news conference were seized from baggage and cargo arriving at the airport. The government is cracking down on the illegal trafficking, saying some of its import-export activity may be linked to terrorists.
Mark Lennihan/AP

The black market in wildlife parts and products is the fourth-largest illegal industry worldwide, behind narcotics, counterfeiting and human trafficking, and it may well outstrip other illicit enterprises in terms of the variety of crimes and the complexities they pose for law enforcement. The wildlife trade encompasses culinary delicacies and Asian medicines, pets and hunting trophies, clothing and jewelry. It takes in commodities such as elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, bushmeat, the shells of giant tortoises, the pelts of big-game cats. The environmental and social costs of the trade are grave. Wildlife crime is contributing to the erosion of natural resources and the spread of infectious diseases; it is providing robust new revenue streams for criminal syndicates and even terrorists. In a July 2013 executive order enhancing United States government coordination to combat wildlife crime, President Obama deemed the surge in poaching and trafficking an "international crisis" that is "fueling instability and undermining security."

Crawford Allan, the senior director of TRAFFIC North America for the World Wildlife Fund, joins The Daily Circuit to talk about the risks this trade poses to animals, the environment and the human population.

Video: The most trafficked animal you've never heard of

Learn more about wildlife trafficking:

• Google and WWF Fund Drones to End Poaching(Industry Tap)

• Photos: Tech Targeting Wildlife Poachers (Discovery)

• Can drones help tackle Africa's wildlife poaching crisis? (BBC)

• Lucrative illegal animal trade thrives in Southern California (NPR)