The illegal trade in live animals reached a worrying new level in 2025. According to a report published on December 11 by Interpol, seizures in recent months have broken all records. The largest operation of the year intercepted nearly 30,000 wild animals across 134 countries, revealing the scale of a scourge now linked to other forms of transnational crime. From monkeys and tortoises to exotic birds, the trafficking has reached enormous proportions. In an operation conducted between September and October, authorities recovered 6,160 birds, 2,040 tortoises, 1,150 reptiles, 208 primates, 46 pangolins, 10 big cats, and more than 19,000 other animals. Far from the isolated poachers of the past, criminal networks have evolved into organized structures, operating like veritable cartels.
A globalized and interconnected traffic
This trend is largely driven by a growing demand for exotic animals, primarily to supply the market for novel pets. But beyond this luxury consumption, Interpol is raising the alarm about a much broader reality: these networks are now intertwined with drug trafficking, human trafficking, and money laundering. Their professionalization also relies on digital currencies, used to conceal transactions. Investigators have thus traced several suspicious financial flows via cryptocurrencies. Thanks to enhanced collaboration between police forces and financial platforms, connections have been established between animal traffickers and other forms of crime. In Qatar, a man was arrested while attempting to sell an endangered primate for $14,000. In Brazil, authorities dismantled a network involving 145 suspects and rescued more than 200 animals, including golden lion tamarins.
All potentially affected animals
Far from being limited to large mammals, the trade also affects insects and invertebrates: some 10,500 butterflies, spiders, and other arthropods were seized during the operation. As for the trade in animal products—horns, bones, shells, scales, and skins—it continues to flourish, fueled by the markets for traditional medicine and illegal consumption. Interpol estimates the global wildlife trade at $20 billion per year, an amount undoubtedly far below the actual figure due to the clandestine nature of these exchanges. For Valdecy Urquiza, Interpol's Secretary General, it is clear that this trafficking is no longer simply a matter of environmental offenses, but rather a global organized crime network whose reach extends to every region of the world.
