In 2001, Wildlife Alliance responded to a request from the Cambodian Department of Forestry and Wildlife to address a crisis in illegal wildlife trade. Cambodia's forests and national parks were under siege from wildlife poachers and traders who sought out endangered wildlife to sell as food, traditional Asian medicine, or for other purposes such as pets and tourist attractions.
Members of the WRRT release a monitor lizard in the forest shortly after it was found at a wildlife dealer's Phnom Penh home.
We established the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team in cooperation with the Cambodian Ministry of the Environment and the Forestry Administration. Three teams of dedicated law enforcement specialists, with logistical and technical support from Wildlife Alliance staff, respond to information from public wildlife crime hotlines and informants to track down the poachers, sellers, and middlemen in the wildlife trafficking business. They conduct investigations of possible wildlife trafficking networks, inspect restaurants believed to be selling wildlife products, and intercept shipments of wildlife along the borders.
WRRT discovers illegal wildlife products in a cooler hidden in the rear of a wildlife dealer's residence.
To date, the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team has rescued more than 32,000 live animals and confiscated large quantities of animal parts and endangered tropical hardwoods. Wildlife Alliance maintains offices, vehicles, and equipment (GPS units, digital cameras, etc.) for the WRRT and provides them with animal rescue equipment. When WRRT rescues live animals, any animals that are healthy and suited for the wild are immediately released, but those that cannot be released are cared for by the Care for Rescued Wildlife program at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center.
