By David Cowdrey

Illegal wildlife trade routes are difficult to uncover. By their very nature they are covert, sometimes run by organised criminals, and often used to smuggle other commodities such as drugs and guns. This report attempts to uncover some of these complex trade routes into Europe and the UK, as well as the techniques used to smuggle wildlife. It is based on research commissioned by WWF and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and independently conducted by the University of Wolverhampton which uses evidence from HM Customs and Excise, the Police and a number of court cases.

Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC International, 2002. 15p.

By World Wildlife Fund - UK

Based on trade data for six timber producing regions, this report examines the role of the EU in trade in illegally sourced timber and assesses the potential for the EU to limit illegal logging over the next ten years. Presenting a league table of the EU’s top importers of illegal timber, and combining up-to-date information on both timber imports and EU policy, the report predicts that the main factor limiting illegal logging in the near future will be the exhaustion of forest resources. The implications are far-reaching: biodiversity, human health and national economies across the world will all be affected. The report concludes with a series of recommendations, which address the need for the EU and its member states to take more proactive steps to halt the practice of illegal logging and the trade in illegal timber. It also highlights the urgent need for meaningful co-operation from other major importing countries, including China, Japan and the US.

Godalming, Surrey. UK: WWF-UK, November 2005. 102p.