The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at reducing the amount of illegal wildlife products moving across international borders. The MoU was signed by Dr. Cristián Samper, WCS President and CEO, and Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO.
As the criminal networks that profit from wildlife trafficking have become more organized, the illegal cross-border trade in wildlife has been made more sophisticated through the use of superior technology. Stopping the trafficking of illegal wildlife and wildlife products is essential to conserving endangered species such as elephants, tigers, marine turtles, pangolins, and many others.
This has been excerpted from a 7 January 2016 news release by the World Customs Organization and is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wcoomd.org/en/media/newsroom/2016/january/wco-and-wcs-to-collaborate-on-illegal-wildlife-trade.aspx