Oxford Law Pro

Hinsley, Amy, Daniel W S Challender, and Michelle Anagnostou, 'The consequences of the trade of overexploited species on biodiversity' (3 Aug. 2026), in Joyce Kimutai, and Celine O'Donovan (eds), Environmental Science, in Sam De Silva, and others (eds), Expert Essentials (Oxford, online edn, Oxford Law Pro, 14 May 2025 - ), https://doi.org/10.1093/9780198972877.003.0093

The wildlife trade is complex and involves diverse species, supply chains, and market types, meaning that the impacts on biodiversity can also be varied and context dependent. Wildlife trade may rely upon unsustainable harvesting, which leads to a decline in the target species due to the direct removal of individuals from wild populations. The indirect impacts of wider trade-linked threats, including the spread of invasive species and ‘bycatch’ of non-target species, can also cause species decline. Such declines can, in turn, have broader impacts, undermining ecosystem health and resilience and negatively affecting ecosystem services and function. Further, trade can have much more complex impacts on the behaviour or physiology of wild populations, especially those under selective harvesting. Trade can also have positive consequences for biodiversity by providing incentives to protect wild populations of traded species and their habitats. Formulating public policy to address illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade necessitates understanding the impact of exploitation on species populations, and crucially, how wildlife trade systems function, including incentives for harvest and conservation, the role of key actors and stakeholders, and potential feedback effects. This requires considering the social legitimacy of proposed laws and regulations; evaluating potential impacts, including unintended consequences; and a realistic assessment of enforcement effort needed to achieve stated policy goals.