Final signature count: 23,913

23,913 signatures toward our 30,000 goal

Wildlife trafficking is one of the biggest threats to wildlife worldwide¹. While the practice is illegal in many cases, there are loopholes that can make it difficult to catch and punish those involved in trafficking².

Wildlife trafficking isn’t just a problem in foreign countries, either. The U.S. is a major buyer and contributor to this industry³.

As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services National Wildlife Repository⁴ maintains, “The United States is a destination and transit point for trafficked wildlife and wildlife products, including exotic pets, reptile skin products, traditional medicine ingredients, elephant ivory and rhino horn. Much of the world’s trade — both legal and illegal — in wild animal and plant species is driven by U.S. consumers, originates in our country or passes through our ports on the way to other nations.”

The Wildlife Trafficking and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2021⁵ offers a solution to this problem.

This bill incentivizes and protects whistleblowers, and would set up substantial financial rewards for people who call in legitimate tips about wildlife trafficking. This would allow NGOs and regular people alike to report signs of wildlife trafficking⁶.

This law will empower regular people and NGOs working on the ground with wildlife populations to report findings to authorities. Wildlife trafficking agents can’t be everywhere all the time, and under this law, they don’t have to be.

A version of the bill was previously introduced in 2018 and received widespread support from whistleblower advocacy groups and wildlife conservation groups. With your help, we can ensure its passage and protect countless species!

Sign the petition to support this landmark legislation and protect vulnerable species around the world!