Nearly 30,000 live animals were rescued during a sweeping, month-long global crackdown on illegal wildlife trafficking, according to international law enforcement agencies, marking one of the largest coordinated efforts to date against environmental crime.
According to a release from Interpol, the mission, which took place from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, saw authorities across 134 countries carry out Operation Thunder 2025, a joint initiative led by Interpol and the World Customs Organization (WCO), with the support of partners from the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime. The operation resulted in 4,640 seizures worldwide, the identification of approximately 1,100 suspects, and the interception of massive quantities of protected wildlife, plants, animal parts and illegally logged timber.
The illegal wildlife trade is primarily driven by demand for exotic pets, with birds, reptiles, primates, and rare insects among the most commonly trafficked species. In Indonesia alone, authorities rescued more than 3,000 birds. Elsewhere, officials seized over 1,000 birds in Brazil, pangolins in Laos, Egyptian tortoises in Thailand, gibbons and cuscuses in Malaysia, and shipments of hatching eggs in Australia.
While live rescues reached historic highs, investigators emphasized that most wildlife trafficking still involves animal parts and derivatives (such as severed gorilla hands, shark fins, and elephant hair), frequently used in traditional medicine, luxury foods, or decorative items. During the operation, authorities seized more than 30 tons of protected species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), along with 32,000 cubic meters of illegally harvested timber.
Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said the operation exposed how wildlife trafficking networks increasingly intersect with other forms of organized crime, such as drug trafficking and human exploitation.
