| Montreal, 21/08/2000 – Thousands of animals of endangered species are illegally killed and traded across borders throughout North America each year. To combat this disturbing trend, over 70 wildlife enforcement officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States will meet this week in Monterrey, Mexico, to coordinate efforts to crack down on wildlife poaching and smuggling.
Organizers of the trilateral meeting say national borders are not an obstacle for the poachers and smugglers who operate at home and abroad, turning abuse of wildlife protection laws into global environmental crime. The illegal killing and trade of wildlife threatens the continued existence of our valuable resources, said Victor Ramirez Navarro, Subprocurador of the Mexican Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa). These enforcement officials are working to take better aim at the violators who jeopardize our shared natural heritage, Ramirez said.
The meeting is part of an annual series on enforcement training sponsored by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in conjunction with the North American Wildlife Enforcement Group (NAWEG). NAWEG is a network of senior wildlife enforcement officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States. Previous enforcement seminars have dealt with trade in fur-bearing species, wild birds, reptiles, and corals and marine invertebrates.
This week's meeting will focus on big game hunting and game farming. Officers from the three countries will look at ways to close enforcement loopholes, improve understanding of regulations among the countries and exchange information on strategies.
The enforcement officers will also review the status of animal populations and the ranges of the main trophy species, the legal framework for hunting in North America, as well as case studies that highlight ways to deal with import/export fraud and smuggling.
In recent years, there has been increased cooperation among North American wildlife enforcement agencies in sharing information that has led to the prosecution of cases involving poaching and the illegal trade of wildlife. For example, in the last three years, more than 18,000 cases were prosecuted in the US alone. In that same period, US officials looked at approximately half a million imports.
Organizers say one of the goals of the meeting is to improve the coordination of enforcement efforts among the three countries. Opportunities to share knowledge of wildlife protection have been invaluable for North American enforcement agencies to keep informed of conservation policies, Darlene Pearson, Head of Law and Policy at the CEC said.
The CEC was established under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on the opportunities and challenges that arise in the context of liberalized trade. | 
