By Jen Clanahan
On June 2, Governor Polis signed SB25-168 Prevention of Wildlife Trafficking. The new law helps to address trafficking with additional deterrents such as assigning heightened penalties to existing prohibitions on possession, sale, and destruction of wildlife when the species involved is a threatened, endangered, or CITES listed species.
We are thrilled to see that our elected officials are taking the problem of wildlife trafficking seriously. Wildlife trafficking not only poses significant threats to many of Colorado’s native species, but it is a multi-billion dollar industry with strong ties to the same criminals that are trafficking humans, guns and drugs. Funds from wildlife trafficking have been linked to international terrorist organizations. Because it is difficult to enforce we need these additional deterrents.
Because traffickers tend to remove the fittest individuals from wildlife populations, it may cause reduced fitness in subsequent generations which could threaten wildlife as they try to adapt to habitat loss and climate change. Bears are poached for their gallbladders. Turtles, pronghorn and eagles are taken as well, to name just a few of our native species that are impacted. We need every tool in our toolbox to fight these crime syndicates and protect Colorado’s iconic wildlife.
Jen Clanahan is Executive Director, Colorado Nature League.