When we talk about the illegal trade in wild species, the first thing that comes to mind is poaching for elephant tusks, rhino horns or tiger bones. Yet countless other species are exploited and smuggled, from sharks to trees. Indeed, tens of thousands of animal and plant species – alive or dead, as well as their parts – are sold internationally as food, pets, timber, skins, ornaments and medicinal ingredients.

However, not everyone knows that the trade in wild species is not always illegal, and is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites). The convention aims to ensure that the trade in wild species does not threaten their survival in nature. And when it does, the trade becomes illegal.

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Photographers against wildlife crime

An international group of award-winning and world-renowned photographers and photojournalists is shining a spotlight on the issue with the most powerful tool at their disposal: images. The result is the Photographers against wildlife crime project (which is a registered trademark), a book to be published in May 2018 that brings together the most powerful and iconic photographs on the subject. As well as urging the public to demand an end to the illegal trade in wild species, the book pays tribute to the heroes fighting to protect the victims of these crimes, from volunteers at rhino orphanages to all-women anti-poaching units. "Our images are proof that photography matters," said Britta Jaschinski, photographer and co-founder of the project. "Without photography, the world's conscience would wither."

An aerial photograph of indigenous land in the Altamira region of the Brazilian Amazon that has been illegally deforested © Daniel Beltrá/Photographers against wildlife crime

At the Chimelong International Zoo in China, this orangutan performs in costume three times a day, accompanied by a clown. Orangutans are at risk of extinction and their young are traded as pets or for entertainment © Britta Jaschinski/Photographers against wildlife crime

A thresher shark caught in a trammel net in the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Tens of thousands of sharks die every year as victims of bycatch or demand for shark fins © Brian Skerry/Photographers against wildlife crime

Approximately 4,000 confiscated frozen pangolins. They were hidden in a container at the port in Sumatra. Pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine and their meat is considered a delicacy © Paul Hilton/Photographers against wildlife crime

An elephant lying on the ground with its legs chained at Chitwan National Park. The animal is kept under restraint because in its 50 years of life it has killed 5 mahouts (trainers) © Patrick Brown/Panos Pictures/Photographers against wildlife crime

On 30 April 2016, Kenya burned the largest quantity of ivory (15 tonnes) at Nairobi National Park © Charlie Hamilton James/Photographers against wildlife crime

This orphaned gorilla infant was on sale at a market in Cameroon. The photographer traded it for a worthless ring and took it to a protected area on the other side of the country. The infant died a few months later © Karl Ammann/Photographers against wildlife crime

What remains, still slowly burning, of an area of Amazon rainforest cleared to make way for pastureland © Charlie Hamilton James/Photographers against wildlife crime

Ring-tailed lemurs at Wenzhou Zoo, in Zhejiang, China. The species, which is at risk of extinction, now numbers only two thousand individuals in the wild due to habitat loss, poaching and hunting © Zheng Xiaoqun/Photographers against wildlife crime

Confiscated rhinoceros feet, from two adults (a male and a female) and a calf © Britta Jaschinski/Photographers against wildlife crime

A volunteer from the NGO Care for Wild Africa comforts a rhinoceros calf after surgery to treat wounds from a hyena attack. The female rhinoceros calf was left orphaned after her mother was killed by poachers and was luckier than other calves, who are struck with machetes by poachers so they cannot escape © Brent Stirton/Photographers against wildlife crime

A member of an all-women anti-poaching unit in Zimbabwe. Every day these women face the harsh reality of conservation on the front line, while also being mothers © Adrian Steirn/Photographers against wildlife crime

Thandi is a female white rhinoceros whose horn was cut off by poachers, and she has become a symbol of survival in the fight against rhinoceros poaching © Neil Aldridge/Photographers against wildlife crime

A captive-bred Philippine eagle is hand-fed at the Philippine Eagle Centre. Habitat loss due to deforestation has pushed these eagles to the brink of extinction. Some captive-bred birds are subsequently released into the wild © Klaus Nigge/Photographers against wildlife crime

Tony Fitzjohn, conservationist and protégé of George Adamson, with Jipe, the lion he raised from an orphaned cub to adulthood over three years before releasing him into the wild. Jipe bred and raised his cubs in Tsavo, Kenya, but was killed by poachers shortly after this photograph was taken © Olly and Suzi/Photographers against wildlife crime

The mahout who raised the orphaned elephant from South Africa shares a special bond. The elephants are raised to maturity and then released into the wild, as part of a study on rehabilitated animals. Abu Camp, Okavango, Botswana © Chris Packham/Photographers against wildlife crime

A gorilla in the arms of its keeper on the way to a larger protected area dedicated to orphaned or captive-bred apes rescued by Ape Action Africa in Cameroon © Jo-Anne McArthur/Photographers against wildlife crime

A pair of young Bengal tigers in Ranthambhore National Park in India. Fewer than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild, as a consequence of poaching driven by demand for their parts, primarily in China and Southeast Asia © Sudhir Shivaram/Photographers against wildlife crime

The polar bear is a vulnerable species. Melting ice and warmer seas caused by global warming pose serious problems. Furthermore, nearly 1,000 polar bears are killed every year as trophies to be sold in the legal and illegal wildlife trade © Ole J Liodden/Photographers against wildlife crime

Fennec foxes are captured to be sold in the pet trade. This 3-month-old cub was on sale at a market in southern Tunisia © Bruno D'Amicis/Photographers against wildlife crime

The illegal trade in wild species

The illegal trade in wild species is a growing market, having become the fourth most profitable criminal activity in the world after drug, arms and human trafficking, with an estimated value of 20 billion dollars. It also represents the greatest threat to species survival, second only to habitat destruction. "Most people involved in the illegal trade do it for financial gain," said Keith Wilson, photo editor and co-founder of the Photographers against wildlife crime project. "The profits from poaching will continue to fuel this trade until the risk becomes too great, revenues fall and, above all, there is no longer any demand."

"They don't care about the future of our planet.
And I am excited to be working with some of the best photographers in the world to produce a book that will not shy away from the subject."
Keith Wilson, photo editor, journalist and co-founder of Photographers agai