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Wildlife trafficking in Thailand
Wildlife Trafficking is the illegal trade of endangered or protected species. It is a multi-billion dollar illegal market that is pushing many species towards extinction. The value of this trade is estimated to be between $10-20 billion US dollars annually. Trafficking occurs within national borders as well as internationally. The motives behind wildlife trafficking include the need for clothing, which can be made from furs, skins, leather, and feathers, sport, like falconry or other recreational hunting activities, healthcare, which include herbal remedies and traditional medicines that contain animal products, and collections, like wildlife specimens kept for pleasure. Thailand is currently the largest illegal ivory market behind China. Recently, the government discovered that 250 vendors are selling ivory; however, only 67 vendors are certified to do so. Because of the bad reputation this brings, the Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has recently pledged to end the ivory trade in Thailand by amending national legislation. Although there has been a major crackdown on smugglers in Thailand, many are still untouchable by the government due to their connections with government officials, paid off to give them tips on when the police are mobilizing. Also, there is poor communication between the police and immigration, which allows traders to slip by unnoticed. Over the past two years, officials have captured more than 46,000 animals from traffickers. This number compared to the 18,000 captured animals in the two previous years shows how the market has inflated hugely. Thai law requires that the animals be kept as evidence until legal proceedings are completed; as a result, wildlife centers across the country are filling up quickly, many already at capacity. Keeping the animals is very costly, even with some eventually released into the wild, many are unable to return to an independent lifestyle. With euthanasia not considered an option, it costs the country $57,000 per month to feed all of the recovered animals.

Effects
Wildlife trafficking causes biodiversity loss, destruction of ecosystems, and risks to human and animal health. With respect to biodiversity loss, many scientist predict that 13-42% of Southeast Asia’s animal and plant species could go extinct in this century if current illegal trade continues. As animals are killed or taken from their natural habitats, an imbalance is created in the ecosystem, which can cause in increase in one species and decreases in others. Also, when animals are removed from their natural habitats and placed into others, they become invasive species and can pose a major threat on the native species in the new area. Diseases can spread and the predator-prey relationship in the new area can be disrupted. Invasive species are a major cause of extinctions. Not only are the native animals being threatened, but the trafficked animal almost always experiences incredibly hostile and appalling conditions which can cause the animal to become very ill or die before it reaches its destination. Human health is also endangered as wild animals can spread new viruses and diseases to humans. Lastly, the profits from wildlife trafficking have been found to strengthen other illegal trades, like human and drug trafficking.

Control Measures
Many organizations have been created in the hopes of improving the current situation around wildlife trafficking. Four of the main organizations are Freeland, the World Wildlife Fund, TRAFFIC, and Wildlife Friends of Thailand (WFFT) which addresses specifically the situation in Thailand. All three organizations aim to educate, provide news, and work on prevention.

Freeland
The Freeland Foundation's main goals are to raise awareness and political will and create and support sustainable communities that do not need to resort to illegal animal trafficking to earn a profit.

TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC, a leader in the conservation movement, is a trade monitoring network, with constant updates about news pertaining to animal trafficking. TRAFFIC is a member of CAWT and partners with the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Wildlife Friends of Thailand
The Wildlife Friends of Thailand (WFFT) is a registered foundation under Thai law that aims to rescue wild animals, educate people on animal cruelty and trafficking, prevent hunting, promote conservation of all natural resources, and to start a release program for animals that are able to be re-introduced into the wild. The WFFT also provides news stories on recent news regarding animal and wildlife conservation in Thailand.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations Wild Enforcement Network
The Freeland Foundation and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia worked with the Thai government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to establish the ASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) in 2005. ASEAN-WEN oversees cross-border cooperations and aims to strengthen the collective law enforcement capacity of the ten ASEAN member countries. It is the largest regional wildlife law enforcement collaboration in the world and receives support form the United States Agency for International Development.