HomeNewsBriefAnimal Rescue Stats Highlight Trade Threatening Ecuador Wildlife
BRIEF

Animal Rescue Stats Highlight Trade Threatening Ecuador Wildlife

ECUADOR / 22 APR 2014 BY JAMES BARGENT EN

Authorities in Ecuador have rescued around 8,000 animals from eco-traffickers in the last decade, a number that likely represents just a fraction of a trade threatening the fauna in one of the world's most biodiverse countries.

Between 2003 and 2013 (although 2010 is excluded because records are unavailable for that year) the Environmental Ministry rescued 7,883 animals from traffickers, reported La Hora.

The most commonly trafficked animals were reptiles, accounting for 3,808 of the rescued animals, followed by mammals and birds.

The trade is ranked as one of the principal threats to the 182 species this ministry classifies as "vulnerable," the 118 listed as endangered and the 68 as critically endangered.

Animal trafficking, along with other types of eco-trafficking such as the illegal timber trade, was recently included as a crime in Ecuador's reformed penal code.

InSight Crime Analysis

Although it is one of the smallest countries in South America, Ecuador has one of the largest number of animal species in the world, so it is unsurprising it should attract the attention of animal traffickers.

The animals rescued by authorities are likely just a fraction of those being trafficked, especially since the figure will not take into account the many animals that die in transit.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Eco Trafficking

The trade is common around the region, and is a particular issue in countries including Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. Ecuador's neighbor Colombia also has a thriving trade, with around 58,000 animals rescued in the country every year.

Many animals are sold on the domestic market, where the profits are low and criminal operations are unsophisticated. However, if the animals are trafficked abroad, they can fetch high prices, making the international trade attractive to criminals better equipped to evade border security checks and keep animals alive during long journeys.

Globally, the profits on offer from animal trafficking are huge. According to international police force Interpol's estimates the business is worth between $15 billion and $20 billion a year, making it the fourth largest illegal global trade after drugs, human trafficking and arms trafficking.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 28 FEB 2022

The assassination of a suspected Albanian drug trafficker in Ecuador is another reminder of the increasing presence of Balkan trafficking…

CHINA AND CRIME / 4 APR 2022

A string of seizures highlights Panama's important role in international timber trafficking. The country’s strategic position and the presence of…

ECUADOR / 27 OCT 2022

Fishing vessels are harvesting smaller marine species in Ecuador as the demand for fishmeal is drawing the attention of illegal…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…