The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar industry, raking in an estimated $24 billion globally – and Australia’s unique reptiles are hotter commodities than ever.
Australian animals are sold for up to tens of thousands of dollars on the black market.
This lucrative trade attracts criminals from international organised crime networks, who smuggle wildlife while simultaneously testing potential drug trafficking routes.
Forensic wildlife scientist Dr Greta Frankham explains how cutting-edge science is helping to crack down on wildlife crime:
Dr Greta Frankham is a wildlife forensic scientist heading Australia’s only accredited animal forensics lab. Dr Frankham told Crime Insiders Forensics host Kathryn Fox what wildlife smuggling actually looks like.
“We see a lot of reptiles, lizards, turtles mostly, but we do see birds as well, bird eggs in particular,” Dr Frankham said on the Crime Insiders podcast.
“There are organised groups out there who are doing it on large scales. And they’ll have teams of people that go out and poach and package and smuggle these animals around the world for clients that want and have asked for or ordered certain species,” she said.
“We have had calls where police have gone in to raid bikie premises and have found a range of snakes.”
Dr Frankham said wildlife smuggling is seen as a low-risk, high-reward crime because there aren’t many resources being put into prosecution. Compared to drugs or weapons, wildlife traffickers are more likely to receive “a slap on the wrist,” she said.
Dr Frankham said wildlife crimes are a biosecurity threat to human health and can have devastating impacts on native plants and animals.
“An animal from one country might end up in another one, become feral or invasive and have impacts on the environment. It might also bring in parasites and pathogens,” she said.
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