As wildlife traffickers get more devious so must those who fight the miserable trade. Australia is leading with some innovative new ways to determine if an animal is wild caught or captive bred. By studying the nutritional value of the food that has sustained the animal it becomes clear what it's origins are. Since there is a significant loophole in the laws around export of wild species in Australia this new technology will help close the possibility of claims that the animal is captive bred when in fact it has been taken from the wild. The new technology will have major importance further afield in trafficking other species that are at huge risk of being exploited to extinction such as the pangolin in Africa. The huge financial gain for just a single animal is enough to make the traffickers continue to take risks and exploit any weakness in the law so maybe this will make it harder for them.
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