Wildlife Crime in Australia

Overview

Journal Emerg Top Life Sci

Specialty Biology

Date 2021 Feb 3

PMID 33533406

Citations 2

Authors

Adrian Linacre

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Wildlife crime is on a massive scale by whatever metric is used. The illegal trade in wildlife and related products is leading to the decline and extinction of many iconic species from rhino to tigers. Almost all countries are signatures to CITES and therefore should enforce national legislation if alleged infringements of trade of wildlife occur. No country is immune from this illegal trade although countries like Australia have their own specific wildlife crimes. Australia is home to many reptilian, amphibian and avian species that are highly prized, predominantly as pets. Collection of protected species from the wild is illegal in all jurisdictions yet policing remote areas of the outback, where so much of the native endemic fauna and flora lives, is nearly impossible. The illegal international trade in these species is highlighted by two case studies provided in this review. A further case highlights the issues of each of the six states of Australia having separate legislation, which is compounded when wildlife crime can be inter-state crime. Australia is one of the few countries having an institute, based at the Australian Museum, with an accredited wildlife forensic science laboratory and therefore the capability to undertake forensic testing of seized samples. One way to reduce wildlife crime may be by educating those who buy illegally seized products that there is a direct connection between the dead animal from which it came and the devasting effect this purchase has on the environment.

Citing Articles

An argument for pandemic risk management using a multidisciplinary One Health approach to governance: an Australian case study.

Woolaston K, Nay Z, Baker M, Brockett C, Bruce M, Degeling C Global Health. 2022; 18(1):73.

PMID: 35883185 PMC: 9321311. DOI: 10.1186/s12992-022-00850-4.

Animal Forensic Genetics.

Linacre A Genes (Basel). 2021; 12(4).

PMID: 33916063 PMC: 8066154. DOI: 10.3390/genes12040515.

References

Ewart K, Frankham G, McEwing R, Webster L, Ciavaglia S, Linacre A . An internationally standardized species identification test for use on suspected seized rhinoceros horn in the illegal wildlife trade. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2017; 32:33-39. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2017.10.003. View

Hsieh H, Chiang H, Tsai L, Lai S, Huang N, Linacre A . Cytochrome b gene for species identification of the conservation animals. Forensic Sci Int. 2001; 122(1):7-18. DOI: 10.1016/s0379-0738(01)00403-0. View

Harper C, Vermeulen G, Clarke A, de Wet J, Guthrie A . Extraction of nuclear DNA from rhinoceros horn and characterization of DNA profiling systems for white (Ceratotherium simum) and black (Diceros bicornis) rhinoceros. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2013; 7(4):428-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2013.04.003. View

Wasser S, Shedlock A, Comstock K, Ostrander E, Mutayoba B, Stephens M . Assigning African elephant DNA to geographic region of origin: applications to the ivory trade. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004; 101(41):14847-52. PMC: 522003. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0403170101. View

Byard R . Traditional medicines and species extinction: another side to forensic wildlife investigation. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2016; 12(2):125-7. DOI: 10.1007/s12024-016-9742-8. View

Dormontt E, Jardine D, van Dijk K, Dunker B, Dixon R, Hipkins V . Forensic validation of a SNP and INDEL panel for individualisation of timber from bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum Pursch). Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2020; 46:102252. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2020.102252. View

Summerell A, Frankham G, Gunn P, Johnson R . DNA based method for determining source country of the short beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) in the illegal wildlife trade. Forensic Sci Int. 2018; 295:46-53. DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.11.019. View

Lee J, Hsieh H, Huang L, Kuo Y, Wu J, Chin S . Ivory identification by DNA profiling of cytochrome b gene. Int J Legal Med. 2008; 123(2):117-21. DOI: 10.1007/s00414-008-0264-0. View

Haas T, Ferreira S . Combating Rhino Horn Trafficking: The Need to Disrupt Criminal Networks. PLoS One. 2016; 11(11):e0167040. PMC: 5117767. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167040. View

10.

Wasser S, Mailand C, Booth R, Mutayoba B, Kisamo E, Clark B . Using DNA to track the origin of the largest ivory seizure since the 1989 trade ban. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007; 104(10):4228-33. PMC: 1805457. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0609714104. View

11.

Lee J, Tsai L, Liao S, Linacre A, Hsieh H . Species identification using the cytochrome b gene of commercial turtle shells. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2009; 3(2):67-73. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2008.10.005. View

12.

Ogden R, Linacre A . Wildlife forensic science: A review of genetic geographic origin assignment. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2015; 18:152-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2015.02.008. View

13.

Barreira A, Lijtmaer D, Tubaro P . The multiple applications of DNA barcodes in avian evolutionary studies. Genome. 2016; 59(11):899-911. DOI: 10.1139/gen-2016-0086. View

14.

Linacre A, Tobe S . An overview to the investigative approach to species testing in wildlife forensic science. Investig Genet. 2011; 2(1):2. PMC: 3032691. DOI: 10.1186/2041-2223-2-2. View

15.

Ciavaglia S, Linacre A . OzPythonPlex: An optimised forensic STR multiplex assay set for the Australasian carpet python (Morelia spilota). Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2018; 34:231-248. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2018.03.002. View

16.

Kumar V, Rajpoot A, Srivastav A, Nigam P, Kumar V, A M . Phylogenetic relationship and molecular dating of Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) with other extant pangolin species based on complete cytochrome b mitochondrial gene. Mitochondrial DNA A DNA Mapp Seq Anal. 2018; 29(8):1276-1283. DOI: 10.1080/24701394.2018.1445241. View

17.

Johnson R, Wilson-Wilde L, Linacre A . Current and future directions of DNA in wildlife forensic science. Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2014; 10:1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2013.12.007. View

18.

Hebert P, Gregory T . The promise of DNA barcoding for taxonomy. Syst Biol. 2005; 54(5):852-9. DOI: 10.1080/10635150500354886. View

19.

Ratnasingham S, Hebert P . bold: The Barcode of Life Data System (http://www.barcodinglife.org). Mol Ecol Notes. 2008; 7(3):355-364. PMC: 1890991. DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01678.x. View

20.

Hebert P, Stoeckle M, Zemlak T, Francis C . Identification of Birds through DNA Barcodes. PLoS Biol. 2004; 2(10):e312. PMC: 518999. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020312. View