Recent data reveals that nearly 3 billion plants and animals have been imported into the United States over the last twenty years, the majority of which were sourced from the wild.
Experts, including ecologist Alice Hughes, emphasize the staggering scale of this trade. Hughes notes that this estimate likely underrepresents the total figures since it accounts only for legal transactions and highlights the lack of a comprehensive tracking system for global wildlife trade. “We are just scratching the surface,” she states, underscoring the urgent need for better monitoring and regulation in wildlife commerce.
