The Illegal Wildlife Trade in China, 1st ed. 2019 Understanding The Distribution Networks Palgrave Studies in Green Criminology Series

This book offers a theoretically-based study on crimes against protected wildlife in mainland China with first-hand empirical data collected over five years. It provides an overall examination of crimes against protected and endangered wildlife and an extensive account of the situation in China, where a significant portion of the illegal wildlife trade is currently happening. This emerging field has become an important topic for enforcement and governments alike yet remains an under-researched area. The collected data covers illegal tiger-parts trade, the illegal ivory trade, and the consumption of protected wildlife. The book will serve as a useful reference for scholars, law-enforcement agencies, lawyers, and conservation and wildlife-protection NGO groups to facilitate their understanding of the growing illegal trade in protected and endangered wildlife.

The Illegal Wildlife Trade in China has three general aims: first, to contribute to the general development of green criminology and specifically to the literature of the illegal transactions of protected wildlife at the distribution stage. Second, it aims to understand how illegal transactions are carried out to create insights for policy makers and law enforcement professionals. Finally, Wong seeks to apply theoretical frameworks (such as that of trust, networks, and situational crime prevention) to the understanding of the distribution of illegal wildlife products in order to make contributions to ongoing sociological and criminological discussions.

1. The Demand and Supply of Protected Wildlife Products in China.- 2. China and the Illegal Wildlife Trade.- 3. Criminological Perspective on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.- 4. Conducting Research on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in China.- 5. The Illegal Distribution of Ivory.- 6. The Illegal Tiger Parts Trade.- 7. Consumption of Protected Wildlife as Food.- 8. Conclusion.

Rebecca W. Y. Wong completed her PhD studies at the Department of Sociology, University of Oxford. Her primary research interests are in the fields of Green Criminology, Environmental Crime, the illegal endangered wildlife trade, criminal networks and issues of trust in the underworld. She is also an associate member of the Extra-Legal Governance Institute and the Elephant Research and Conservation Network, University of Oxford.   

Builds upon the significant and growing topic of wildlife crime

Draws on empirical fieldwork data to explore crimes against wildlife in China

Speaks to scholars and NGOs working in green criminology and conservation

Winner of the The 2020 ACS Distinguished Book Award