Virtual Wildlife Trafficking Investigators Program

Published October 21, 2021

ILEA Bangkok and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) collaboratively conducted the Virtual Wildlife Trafficking Investigators Program, October 19-21, 2021, with 32 participants who are rangers, investigators, attorneys, and wildlife-related officials from 8 ILEA Bangkok subscribing countries.

The interactive virtual training taught by FWS experts was intended to refine and enhance participant’s wildlife investigative knowledge and techniques to combat wildlife crime. The participants were provided with a coverage of wildlife trafficking topics, such as CITES, Lacey Act, and international import/export trade with an emphasis on wildlife case initiation and management, interviewing and interrogation, vehicle inspections, undercover operations, and report writing.

The training also focused on the importance of developing and maintaining global contacts and cooperation in investigations as well as provided an opportunity for the participants to exchange their experience working on wildlife cases and discuss problems faced in their investigation and current situations of illegal wildlife trade in the participant’s regions with FWS experts.