Overview

Overlooked, under-policed, and highly lucrative, international wildlife trafficking has become a low-risk/high-return illegal trade estimated at $7 billion to $23 billion annually. While China's share of this trade is unknown due to the trade's illicit nature, China is widely recognized as the world's largest market for trafficked wildlife products. As the Chinese economy has grown, demand for wildlife products-including endangered species-has increased, contributing to the decline in populations of iconic species such as elephants and rhinos, as well as lesser-known species. Three factors play into Chinese demand for wildlife products: (1) wildlife products are valued as status symbols; (2) wildlife products represent a financial asset with stable or increasing value; and (3) wildlife products are perceived to have health benefits related to traditional Asian medicine. Until recently, however, public knowledge in China about wildlife trafficking and conservation efforts has been limited. China has been a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1981 and has a legal framework in place to regulate international trade in wildlife. However, China's domestic framework undermines its ability to protect CITES-listed species in a number of ways. There are inconsistencies between China's domestic list of highly-protected species and those protected by CITES' Appendix 1 list; China's central government devolves implementation to local governments that may have conflicts of interest; and China's domestic laws contain loopholes that allow domestic trade in captive-bred CITES-listed wildlife, their parts, and associated products. China's Wildlife Protection Law (WPL)-the primary legislation guiding Chinese government efforts to combat wildlife trafficking, revised in 2016-permits the captive breeding of CITES-protected species, hindering enforcement efforts. China's domestic trade in tiger parts and their derivatives has continued and even expanded despite CITES' calls to stop captive-breeding practices. In 2018, China announced-then delayed implementation of-exceptions to its ban on trade in rhino horns and tiger bones, presenting a further challenge to wildlife protection. Captive breeding in China creates an additional burden on law enforcement by providing a means for traffickers to hide and sell their wares under the cover of legal activity.Contents: 1. Introduction * 2.China's Role in the Global Market for Wildlife Products * 3. Drivers and Scope of Chinese Consumer Demand * 4. Making Markets: How Wildlife Products Are Sourced and Sold in China * 5. China's Wildlife Regulation and Enforcement * 6. Chinese Anti-trafficking Laws * 7. Laws' Implementation and Enforcement * 8. Greater Levels of International Engagement * 9. Legal, Implementation, and Enforcement Challenges * 10. Implementation Challenges * 11. Enforcement Challenges * 12. Potential Success Story: Ivory * 13. Continuing Challenge: Tiger Products * 14. Considerations for Congress * This compilation also includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

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