( NewsNation ) — Mexican drug cartels make billions of dollars smuggling humans across the southern border, but in recent years, another lucrative crime has taken off: wildlife trafficking.
Regulators in Texas detained a 29-year-old Hispanic man after he attempted to enter the country with two lived howler monkeys in his pickup in March. A woman was caught trying to smuggle 21 pigeons and a keel-billed bird into California less than a week later.
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Both incidents provide an insight into an illegal wildlife trade, which is now the fourth-largest source of funding for criminal organizations, earning about$ 23 billion annually, according to the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS).
In November, the International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL, warned that the growing concern has pushed some types” to the brink of extinction”.
The issue has grown worse thanks to social media and online sites. Customers can now purchase wild animals on the black market much more easily, many of whom are imported from abroad via U.S. ports of entry.
From 2018 to 2021, animals smuggling surged more than 150 %, according to a Moody’s Analytics document, which cited federal data. According to the report, the illegal trade has grown to be a major source of revenue as more” organized cartels” “enter the space.”
According to the Brookings Institution, organizations business animals for compounds used to produce illegal fentanyl, which has been linked to the flow of animals from Mexico to China.
Latin America is particularly vulnerable because of its diversity.  , Ecuador, for example, has about 1, 600 species of birds, and Brazil hosts between 15 % to 20 % of the entire world’s wildlife diversity.
Some animals, like spider monkeys, may fetch upwards of$ 8, 000 in the United States. At the Calexico-Mexicali border crossing next summer, California border authorities found three girl spider monkeys. They were only two months old, underfed, and in poor health, but San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance specialists finally brought them back.
In 2023, DHS established a fresh Wildlife and Environmental Crimes System to combat the growing issue. That group is focused on putting strict laws in place to stop wildlife trafficking and economic crimes.
There’s even been a push to support trafficked animals after they’re confiscated. The Wildlife Confiscations Network was established in Southern California in October by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ( FWS ) and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The system facilitates the search for freed animals ‘ homes.
In 2022, FWS specific agencies and other law enforcement partners investigated over 10, 000 wildlife trafficking cases and collected above$ 11, 000, 000 in criminal sanctions, the agency said.
Better wildlife monitoring tools, which are” significantly lacking,” could aid authorities in their efforts, according to a study released in April.
According to researchers at the University of Adelaide,” currently, wildlife seizures largely depend on previous intelligence rather than active surveillance methods, so seizures reported likely account for only a small percentage of all smuggling attempts.”
Because they can identify specific fragrance like birds and reptiles, they are becoming more prevalent in particular. In fact, a K-9 product was responsible for tracking the March arrival of nearly 20 wild birds in California.
For now, the U. S. remains one of the nation’s largest markets for smuggled animals, in part because the” size and scope” of the government’s fiscal system makes it “ideal for terrible players to move their illicit money through”, Moody’s said in its record.
In that context, addressing the unlawful pet trade might be key in the fight against Mexican drug cartels in addition to safeguarding endangered species and preventing disease-related threats to people.
