Website Welcomes Wildlife Trafficking Whistleblowers
WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (IPS) – A group of international organisations fighting illicit wildlife trafficking has unveiled a new website aimed at assisting whistleblowers who want to aid in the fight against wildlife crimes.
WildLeaks, the first platform of its kind, is an online portal where its creators say whistleblowers can safely and anonymously reveal information on wildlife crimes. Globally, this illegal trade is thought to be worth over 17 billion dollars a year, some of which is thought to be helping finance terrorism, particularly in Africa.
Officially launched on Feb. 6, WildLeaks is funded by the U.S.-based Elephant Action League (EAL) and run by a group of former law enforcement officers, journalists and environmental NGOs across five continents.
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Last month, the Washington-based Stimson Centre released a report in which it showed evidence of the strong links between wildlife poaching and the financing of international terrorism.
There is very strong evidence today that groups in the Central African Republic, in Somalia, and in the DRC are heavily involved in poaching, Varun Vira, an analyst with C4ADS, a security firm here, told reporters at the launch of the report last month.
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