Join, Adopt or Donate
Home » What we do » Safeguarding the natural world » Wildlife » Illegal wildlife trade » Tackling the UK's illegal trade in wildlife

Tackling the UK's illegal trade in wildlife

Operation Charm

Launched by the Metropolitan Police in 1995, Operation Charm is an initiative that challenges the illegal trade of endangered species in London. The scheme works through a combination of law enforcement and raising public awareness.

In 2006, Operation Charm became a partnership now involving six entities: WWF, the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit, the Greater London Authority, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.  WWF would like to thank all those supporters who in 2007 helped to ensure the budget of the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit was not cut and all four staff remained in post.

'Remember to think globally and act locally. If you think you know about any illegal wildlife trade in London, or would like to find out more about the partnership, please visit the Operation Charm website

Eyes and Ears

Unfortunately, endangered species of many kinds are still smuggled into Britain in direct contravention of UK law and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
 
Smuggled endangered species are typically sold illegally as pets, fashion items, medicines, curios or exotic houseplants. WWF's Eyes and Ears initiative asks you to take a leading role in stamping out this illegal wildlife trade by letting us know if you’ve seen or heard about any suspicious wildlife trade.

Find out more about our Eyes and Ears initiative

See how your reports have helped to stop criminals

Souvenir Alert

Souvenir Alert is a joint initiative between WWF, Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), and HM Revenue & Customs. The campaign aims to raise public awareness about how the illegal wildlife trade threatens endangered species and focuses on how the worldwide souvenir industry contributes to this threat. 

Souvenir Alert also increases public awareness of the various controls, agreed at CITES, related to importing wildlife.

Find out more about Souvenir Alert

Partnership for Action against Wildlife crime (PAW)

WWF is a member of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW), which brings together the Police, officers from HM Revenue and Customs and UK Border Agency, government department representatives and relevant voluntary bodies.

The partnership exists to promote the enforcement of wildlife conservation legislation, particularly by supporting the networks of police wildlife crime officers, and officers from HM Revenue and Customs and UK Border Agency.

WWF sponsors the annual Wildlife Law Enforcer of the Year Award. This award is presented by PAW to the law enforcer who has contributed the most to combating wildlife crime in the UK. Read about past winners and their excellent work.

For more information on PAW, visit www.defra.gov.uk/paw

Forensic Analysis Fund

WWF supports the Forensic Analysis Fund, which provides match funding for the cost of forensic analyses that are required by police or customs/border agency officers for wildlife intelligence operations or wildlife-specific casework.  Many wildlife cases would fail to reach prosecution stage if such analyses were unavailable.

National Wildlife Crime Unit

WWF works alongside the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) , a police-led, standalone, multi-agency unit with a UK-wide remit to tackle wildlife crime. Since its launch in 2006, the unit has gathered intelligence on national wildlife crime and provided analytical and investigative support to police and customs officers across the UK. Trade in CITES species has been identified as one of the UK’s priorities in tackling wildlife crime. NWCU particularly focuses on the illegal trade in caviar, ivory, ramin, tortoises and traditional medicines.

Find out more at www.nwcu.police.uk/index.asp