The true scale of global wildlife trade is obscured by data gaps
Overexploitation of wildlife is one of the greatest global drivers of biodiversity loss. Yet, despite this well-established risk, data on extraction and trade are both incomplete and highly fragmented. The IPBES Global analysis estimated 50,000 species to be in trade, yet our review of wildlife trade monitoring programs found at least double that, at 107,356 species in use and trade globally. This included up to 47,685 animal species, covering 42% of all described vertebrate species. Most countries lack any systematic data on trade for species not listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), with the exception of the US-specific dataset Law Enforcement Management Information System, which frequently had higher diversity of species in trade than global databases. This highlights the importance of national monitoring efforts and the need for standardized collation of wildlife trade data beyond CITES-listed species. Without these changes, global indicators on trade meant to guide sustainability and conservation will continue to focus on less than 2% of traded species.
Authors
- Julie L. Lockwood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0177-449X)
- Michael F. Tlusty (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7493-2025)
- Vincent Nijman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5600-4276)
- Kim Jerome Friedman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4002-6585)
- Kelly Malsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8099-9357)
- Caroline Sayuri Fukushima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7909-0173)
- Nazlı Demirel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4542-9276)
- Oliver Tallowin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7282-3645)
- Daniel W. S. Challender (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0606-1715)
- Rodrigo Oyanedel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2359-4641)
- David P. Edwards (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8562-3853)
- Shai Meiri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3839-6330)
- Rishi Sharma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3818-9393)
- Molly R. C. Brown (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5178-0412)
- Oscar Morton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5483-4498)
- Sharon Baruch‐Mordo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8230-9866)
- Amy Hinsley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5590-7617)
- Samuel Pironon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8937-7626)
- Evan A. Eskew (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1153-5356)
- Benjamin Michael Marshall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9554-0605)
- Alice Catherine Hughes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4899-3158)
- Alyson T. Pavitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3926-0462)
- Neil D. Burgess (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2291-4535)
- Jacqueline Jürgens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1216-0357)
Institutions
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Oxford Brookes University (GB)
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital (AU)
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (IT)
- University of Lisbon (PT)
- University of Idaho (US)
- University of Turku (FI)
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (GB)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB)
- Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (DE)
- University of Massachusetts Boston (US)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Wildlife Conservation Society United Kingdom (GB)
- Oceans Institute (AU)
- Istanbul University (TR)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
- Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GB)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-10-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aei3504
- Primary Topic
- Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme