Page 106 - Supplemento 2-2016 (ENG)

roberto bennati

The illegal trading of wild flora and fauna (trafficking of wild species) is
strongly on the increase and has proved to be one of the most lucrative crimi-
nal activities in the world.

A recent resolution by the UN has defined the trafficking of wild species
a serious form of organised criminality, perpetrated by the same type of inter-
national organised criminal groups who are behind such illicit activities as the
human trade and the trafficking of drugs and weapons.

The trafficking of wild species represents a serious threat for biodiversity.
Species of emblematic importance like elephants, rhinoceros, the great apes,
tigers and sharks are particularly targeted by this trafficking that can endanger
the survival of some of these species in their natural habitat.

Poaching of elephants and rhinoceros has recently reached an all time
high and is compromising the repopulation registered in the last three deca-
des.

The EU remains one of the leading destination markets for products rela-
ted to illegally sourced wild species and demand is particularly high for the most
highly priced species in the black market.

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