Help Stop Illegal Wildlife Trafficking

Last quarter, the WRRT scoured the Cambodian province of Battambang, raiding restaurants, markets and roads in order to bring offenders to justice.

The operation concentrated on eight main target areas including one restaurant, four markets, two roadside areas, and one bridge. These particular locations were raided several times by the WRRT over the course of three days. As a result, 950 wild birds were seized including purple herons, cotton pygmy geese, yellow bitterns, painted storks and many, many more. Seventeen non-repeat offender contracts were issued during the operation. All offenders were given education sessions and information about illegal wildlife trading in order to prevent future offences. Traders also received warnings from the WRRT about the consequences of re-offending in the future.

Recently, the WRRT has placed special focus on conducting more sophisticated, intensive, and proactive investigations and operations. This operation was developed with a specific law enforcement plan, spanned an entire province, and included several target locations that were raided multiple times in a short period in order to undermine a trafficking network. It demonstrated the increasing success that the WRRT is experiencing with these more sophisticated and comprehensive operations. Because the WRRT has succeeded in disrupting the illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia by approximately 75%, those that are still trading have been driven even further underground and using even more sophisticated means to conduct their criminal enterprises. This means, that the WRRT must remain vigilant, and must constantly improve its techniques and approaches. Help the WRRTcontinue to dismantle trafficking networks and further deter the devastating illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia!