The magnitude of legal wildlife trade and implications for species survival
Two decades of U.S. import records show legal wildlife trade is far larger than previously assessed, involving over 21,000 species and 2.85 billion individuals.
By Benjamin M. Marshall, Aubrey L. Alamshah, Pedro Cardoso, Phillip Cassey, Sebastian Chekunov, Evan A. Eskew, Caroline S. Fukushima, Pablo García-Díaz, Meredith L. Gore, Julie L. Lockwood, Andrew Rhyne, James Sinclair, Colin T. Strine, Oliver C. Stringham, Michael Tlusty, Jose Valdez, Freyja Watters, Alice C. Hughes in Research
January 14, 2025
Abstract
The legal wildlife trade is a major, but poorly quantified, driver of biodiversity change. Using U.S. wildlife import records spanning 2000–2022, we find that the United States traded over 21,000 species and more than 2.85 billion individual animals, with the majority of individuals across most taxa sourced from wild populations rather than captive breeding. When combined with CITES-listed trade, the United States imported over 29,000 wild species, including more than half of all globally described species in some taxonomic groups. The size and scope of this legal trade far exceed previous assessments, and this underestimation hampers the ability of decision-makers to gauge the impacts of trade on species survival and to design targeted, effective policy.