Title 16, ConservationRelease 119-102

§7612 Statement of United States Policy

Title 16 › CHAPTER 95 — ELIMINATE, NEUTRALIZE, AND DISRUPT WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING › SUBCHAPTER I — PURPOSES AND POLICY › § 7612

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The United States must act quickly to stop the illegal global trade in wildlife and the organized crime behind it. The U.S. will help focus countries end poaching of elephants, rhinoceroses, and other imperiled species by giving technical help and training in things like wildlife protection and population management; anti‑poaching and protected‑area management; using security forces when appropriate; investigative and forensic methods; fighting corruption; tracking seized animals and products; reducing demand; and working with other countries. The U.S. will use its government resources together to curb poaching, break trafficking networks, and stop their financing. The work will build on the National Strategy and Implementation Plan and recognize that wildlife trafficking links to other transnational organized crimes, so responses will be coordinated across those crimes.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §7612

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It is the policy of the United States—

(1)to take immediate actions to stop the illegal global trade in wildlife and wildlife products and associated transnational organized crime;

(2)to provide technical and other forms of assistance to help focus countries halt the poaching of elephants, rhinoceroses, and other imperiled species and end the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products, including by providing training and assistance in—

(A)wildlife protection and management of wildlife populations;

(B)anti-poaching and effective management of protected areas including community managed and privately-owned lands;

(C)local engagement of security forces in anti-poaching responsibilities, where appropriate;

(D)wildlife trafficking investigative techniques, including forensic tools;

(E)transparency and corruption issues;

(F)management, tracking, and inventory of confiscated wildlife contraband;

(G)demand reduction strategies in countries that lack the means and resources to conduct them; and

(H)bilateral and multilateral agreements and cooperation;

(3)to employ appropriate assets and resources of the United States Government in a coordinated manner to curtail poaching and disrupt and dismantle illegal wildlife trade networks and the financing of those networks in a manner appropriate for each focus country;

(4)to build upon the National Strategy and Implementation Plan to further combat wildlife trafficking in a holistic manner and guide the response of the United States Government to ensure progress in the fight against wildlife trafficking; and

(5)to recognize the ties of wildlife trafficking to broader forms of transnational organized criminal activities, including trafficking, and where applicable, to focus on those crimes in a coordinated, cross-cutting manner.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 7612

Title 16, Conservation

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102