Federal agency targeting illegal wildlife trade through financial intelligence
CTV
Canada's financial intelligence agency is stepping up the fight against the illicit wildlife trade by taking aim at the criminals who reap big profits from the global racket.
Canada's financial intelligence agency is stepping up the fight against the illicit wildlife trade by taking aim at the criminals who reap big profits from the global racket.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, known as Fintrac, is encouraging banks and other enterprises to be on the lookout for telltale signs that business dealings could involve the illegal trafficking of animals and exotic plants.
Fintrac has published a new operational alert aimed at gleaning useful intelligence to combat a major international crime that generates approximately US$20 billion in annual proceeds.
The alert says Canadian bears are poached for their bile, claws and paws, which reap large sums on the traditional medicine market at home and abroad.
Fintrac warns that other wild animals in Canada are hunted for their fur and sold globally as trophies or other decorative products.
Species at risk of being targeted include cougars, geese, lynx, moose, crabs, eels, lobsters, narhwals, turtles and wolves.
There is demand in Canada for wildlife and animal parts from abroad such as reptiles, rhinoceros horns, shark fins, endangered birds and orchids.
