Abstract
Wildlife crime threatens national and global security. Much of the impact of wildlife crime is felt overseas, often in developing countries, where it threatens to catalyze conflicts, hinders economic development, undermines the rule of law, and threatens peace, amongst having other negative socio-economic and security impacts. But the impact of wildlife crime also is felt in United States, both directly by undercutting state and local conservation efforts, and indirectly, by injecting illegal wildlife and wildlife products into United States markets. While some work has delved into the sentencing dynamics of broader environmental crime in the United States, little research has explored the sentencing of wildlife crime, which is recognized as being distinct in nature by both governmental bodies and academics alike. The current study explores the federal prosecutions of wildlife crimes, focusing on profiling the wildlife crime cases charged by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). By profiling cases, we aim to explore (1) the application of charges associated with wildlife crime cases via their judgment documents; (2) the wildlife species involved in prosecuted cases; (3) the distribution of cases across US federal districts; and (4) and the sentencing patterns of wildlife crimes. Further statistical analyses explore the relationships between a variety of the variables extracted. Policy recommendations are set forth accordingly.
Highlights
Wildlife crime refers to crime relating to wild flora and fauna
This study focuses on federal cases. 2We did not examine criminal complaints because these initial charging documents typically do not reflect the ultimate resolution of a particular case, which typically is resolved through an indictment or an information. 3https://www.justice.gov/enrd/selected-publications/environmental-crimesmonthly-bulletins
We suggest that greater efforts be made by governments, environmental NGOs, and social media platforms to highlight the serious impact of wildlife crime eventually could prompt the courts to take these crimes more seriously, leading to more serious penalties that more appropriately reflect the severity of wildlife crime offenses
Summary
Wildlife crime refers to crime relating to wild flora and fauna It is defined as the illicit taking, transport, trade, or possession of animals, animal parts, and derivatives thereof in contravention of foreign and domestic laws and treaties (Sosnowski and Moreto, 2021). Wildlife crime—from poaching through trafficking—threatens national security, catalyzes certain conflicts, hinders economic development, undermines the rule of law, and threatens peace, amongst having other negative socio-economic and security impacts (Wyler and Sheikh, 2013; Douglas and Alie, 2014; Nellemann et al, 2016) Despite these broad-ranging impacts, wildlife crime is a relatively low risk, high reward activity. The high reward comes from the high value (often monetary) that traffickers often receive when selling the illegal wildlife
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