Millions of specimens of vulnerable wildlife — whole plants and animals and their parts — enter the United States each year under the watchful eyes of federal inspectors.
Exploring the legal trade in at-risk wildlife
This is not the highly publicized, illicit trafficking in such goods as ivory and rhino horns. Millions of vulnerable wildlife specimens are legally admitted through U.S. customs each year.
August 30, 2015 at 5:22PM
It's all perfectly legal.
This is not the highly publicized, illicit trafficking in such goods as ivory and rhino horns. It's part of the internationally sanctioned trade in threatened or potentially threatened wildlife that operates largely out of the public's view, though it's fueled by marketplace demands.
The Star Tribune obtained data of imported wildlife deemed to be at risk of extinction now, or that may risk extinction if trade isn't controlled, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, called CITES (SIGH-teez), a centerpiece conservation treaty the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforces.
Imperiled wildlife specimens entering the U.S.
More than 21 million individually-counted specimens of vulnerable wildlife have been allowed through U.S. customs from 2010 to August 2015 -- only a small number being refused admittance -- along with about 13.4 million kilograms of plants and animals in various forms, such as caviar. Only a small portion are hunting trophies.
Millions of specimens brought into the U.S. each year
Individually-counted wildlife specimens -- including plants and animals -- pass through U.S. customs at a near average of 3.6 million per year from 2010 to August 2015.
Imported in many forms
Wildlife in the form of powders, food, skins, extracts and more are imported each year, averaging 2.6 million kilograms annually from 2010 to August 2015.
Hunting trophies are a small portion
A total of 59,935 hunting trophies were cleared for entry, not including those brought in by taxidermists. But an overwhelming majority of specimens were admitted for commercial, scientific or biomedical purposes.
Where at-risk trophy animals come from
The nearly 60,000 hunting trophies of vulnerable animals that have been imported into the U.S. since 2010 represent several dozen species and come from all over the world, but Canada and South Africa top the list.
Top ten trophy animals
Of all the vulnerable trophy animals imported into the U.S. from 2010 to August 2015, black bears have topped the list. African lions are third.
African lion hunting trophies
The number of African lion hunting trophies legally imported to the United States increased each year across 2011-2014, with most coming from South Africa.
