A Global Crackdown With a Digital Edge
In late 2025, Interpol led one of the largest wildlife enforcement efforts ever attempted. Working with authorities in 134 countries, the operation resulted in the seizure of around 30,000 live animals, large quantities of illegal plants and timber, and the identification of roughly 1,100 suspected traffickers for further investigation.
The scale of the problem is enormous. Wildlife trafficking is among the world’s most profitable illegal trades, generating an estimated US$7 billion to $23 billion annually. Everything from live animals and rare plants to ivory carvings and musical instruments moves through this shadow economy. With so much global trade in circulation — and fewer than one in 10 cargo shipments physically inspected — traffickers have long relied on mislabeling, rerouted shipments and coded online language to stay ahead of enforcement.
Smarter Inspections at Borders and Ports
For customs officers, one of the hardest challenges is knowing what to inspect and how to identify what they find. New technologies are beginning to close that gap.
Advanced cargo X-ray scanners, paired with software that flags unusual shapes or materials, help inspectors decide which packages deserve closer attention. Trials at major ports and mail centers in Australia have already uncovered animals hidden inside ordinary-looking shipments.
Artificial intelligence is also improving species identification. Tools supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences allow inspectors to describe animal parts using chat-style interfaces trained on technical reference material. This helps distinguish between species that look similar but carry very different legal protections, such as African grey parrots and their less-regulated cousins.
On the ground, portable DNA kits are pushing enforcement even further. These handheld devices can identify several species in under half an hour, using simple color-changing strips instead of lab equipment. Similar advances are happening in forestry, where handheld wood scanners analyze cellular structures to tell protected timber apart from legal alternatives.
Tracking Traffickers Before They Reach the Border
Technology is also reshaping enforcement long before illegal goods reach customs checkpoints. A growing share of wildlife trafficking now happens online, often disguised through vague listings, emojis or photos with little or no description. In response, conservation groups and tech companies are using AI-driven monitoring tools to scan platforms for suspicious activity. Between 2018 and 2023, more than 23 million listings and accounts linked to protected species were blocked or removed.
Shipping paperwork provides another early warning system. New software analyzes vast numbers of manifests and permits, flagging odd trade routes, unusually heavy or cheap shipments, and species that don’t typically appear on certain routes. This allows agencies to focus inspections where they’re most likely to matter, rather than relying on random checks.
To support officers in the field, emerging tools also compile wildlife trade laws across multiple countries, helping inspectors navigate complex regulations that differ between exporting, transit and destination nations. Meanwhile, researchers are using global trade data to identify vulnerable species that may need stronger international protections before they become trafficking targets.
Together, these tools don’t replace human judgment — they sharpen it. By linking online monitoring, risk profiling and on-the-ground inspections, technology is helping authorities move from reactive policing to smarter, coordinated action in a race against highly adaptable criminal networks.
