Canada becoming major hub for illegal wildlife trade
Investigation reveals how black-market wildlife trafficking is flying under regulatory radar across the country.
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Canada has quietly become a significant player in the global illegal wildlife trade, operating as a hub for black-market activity that ranks as the world's fourth most lucrative criminal enterprise — trailing only drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and human smuggling.
A joint investigation by The Globe and Mail and the Pulitzer Center found that Canada's vast wilderness, patrol blind spots, and weak penalties have created ideal conditions for wildlife trafficking networks that often overlap with organized crime. Unlike drug trafficking, it's rare for someone involved in Canada's illicit wildlife trade to face jail time, even though profit margins can be much higher. Enforcement offices are understaffed, and many officials say penalties are too low.
The scale is difficult to measure precisely, but the networks operating across Canada are often the exact same criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking — just with considerably better returns and less legal consequence.
There are signs Canada is taking the issue more seriously. The country has participated in international crackdowns on wildlife and forest crimes, and banned trade in shark fins, elephant ivory, and rhino horns. This past week, G7 leaders pledged joint investigations to trace and seize the proceeds of environmental crime.
