Runway To Extinction Report - Africa

Main Takeaways: 

• African countries are primarily origin points.

• Africa is a prominent source region for ivory, rhino horn, pangolin, marine species (abalone, European eels), and mammals (cheetah cubs, lion claws, etc.).

• Specific countries (Kenya, South Africa, and Ethiopia) feature prominently as transit points due to their large international airports with varied flight routes and/or their geographic position closer to demand regions.

• One country in particular, Kenya, has displayed a unique ability to seize trafficked wildlife in transit by relying in part on teams of sniffer dogs that reduce screening time while improving screening effectiveness.

• Ivory seizures in air transport have slightly decreased by volume while rhino horn seizures have increased in number between 2016 and 2018.

• Checked luggage trafficking instances may become more prominent over time (and air freight trafficking instances correspondingly less prominent) if wildlife product processing moves closer to origin regions, since seizure data suggests worked wildlife products are more likely to be transported by checked luggage or by passengers than raw ivory or rhino horn.