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In 2019, Malawi dismantled the Chinese-led Lin-Zhang wildlife trafficking syndicate, a major win in its fight against the illegal wildlife trade, thanks in part to funding from the U.S. government. The Trump administration’s recent slashing of international development funds, however, threatens these gains, leaving frontline enforcers and conservation programs without critical support. NGOs across Africa and Southeast Asia, running initiatives from sniffer rat programs to antipoaching patrols, tell Mongabay they're struggling to fill the funding gap.

The U.S., the largest importer of wildlife products in the world, brings in nearly 10,000 species of plants and animals into the country legally, some of which have a high potential to become invasive species. A recent study assessed these imported species and identified 32 as having the highest risk for becoming invasive, posing threats to local ecosystems and to human health.

The Cape vulture, Southern Africa's only endemic vulture species, has shown positive signs of recovery in some parts of its range, with the overall population stabilizing. In 2021, the species' conservations status improved from endangered to vulnerable, making the Cape vulture a rare success story for vulture conservation in Africa, say conservationists.

Lions are the most-traded wildcat in the world, and the only big cat whose commercial trade is permitted under CITES, the international wildlife trade agreement. Lion body parts, including bones, skins, claws and teeth, trophies and live individuals are traded across the world, both legally and illegally. South Africa stands out as a hotspot for the trade due to the flourishing captive lion industry, which also supplies body parts and engages in canned hunting.

A South African court in January sentenced four poachers to several years in prison for two separate crimes committed in Kruger National Park (KNP). The Skukuza Regional Court, which in the past has boasted a near-100% conviction rate and under whose jurisdiction KNP falls, held two South African citizens, Sam Khosa and Solly Selahle, and a Mozambican named Oddis Maluleke, guilty of poaching a rhino and taking its horns in February 2019.

In July this year, conservationists from North Carolina Zoo in the U.S. and the Grumeti Fund in Tanzania went searching for a white-backed vulture in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park that had been tagged a few weeks earlier. Tracking data suggested the bird had died. The team traveled off-road to the southwestern edge of the park, accompanied by rangers from the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA). Upon arriving at the bird's location, they came across a gruesome scene: 108 vultures had been sorted into rows, missing their heads and feet.

In the dense forest and diverse ecosystem of Liberia, the battle against wildlife crime has been an almost insurmountable task, but the latest report shows that progress is being made. The Wildlife Crime Task Force (WCTF), under the auspices of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), has shown to be making headway in the battle against illegal wildlife trafficking. Edward Y. N. W. Appleton is an experienced law enforcement expert and now manager at FDA whose work seems to be yielding necessary results in the face of the everyday challenges facing the management of wildlife.