Canada joins global effort to stop illegal wildlife and plant trade
December 11, 2025 – Gatineau, Quebec – Environment and Climate Change Canada
Collaboration among law enforcement agencies is one of the most effective strategies in the fight against international crime, and Canada is helping to advance that effort. From September through October, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers joined partners at home and abroad in Operation Thunder, a coordinated crackdown on illegal trade in wildlife and plants.
In Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers and Canada Border Services Agency officers carried out targeted inspections across the country at mail and cargo centres, airports, land crossings, marine ports, and retail stores.
From ivory sculptures, hunting trophies (mounts), and clothing made from endangered species to traditional medicines and supplements containing rhinoceros horn, the operation in Canada uncovered a number of violations involving products made from plant and animal species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
CITES is an international agreement between countries to help ensure international wildlife trade does not threaten the survival of species. CITES permits are essential for the legal trade of species listed in the appendices. Failure to present valid CITES permits or making false declarations can result in the shipment being stopped and/or confiscated.
While investigations continue, some of the seized and/or detained items from this operation in Canada included:
- Elephant ivory pieces
- Sperm whale pieces
- A blackbuck antelope hunting trophy
- Pills containing saiga antelope
- Pygeum plant extracts
- Rhinoceros horn powder
- Bear parts, such as bile and gall bladder
- Reptiles
- Shark fins
- Protected plant species, such as cacti, orchids, Cistanche, and Cibotium barometz
- Clothing made from pangolin, Python, and the American alligator
Although some of the confiscated items may appear harmless, each one represents part of a larger, illegal global trade whose activities threaten protected wildlife species, affect vulnerable communities, and drives species toward extinction. Canada's enforcement officers collaborate with numerous domestic and international partners to disrupt organized crime networks involved in wildlife trafficking and enforce laws that safeguard species across borders.
For more about the global impact of Operation Thunder 2025, visit 30,000 live animals seized in global operation against wildlife and forestry crime.
Quick facts
- Led by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the World Customs Organization, Operation Thunder is an annual global enforcement initiative that brings over one hundred countries together to prevent the illegal trade in protected species and disrupt the criminal networks behind it.
- While Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers work across the country enforcing the laws and regulations that protect and conserve wildlife and its habitat all year, Operation Thunder focuses on strengthening the cooperation within the international law enforcement community to provide a unique approach toward disrupting wildlife crime.
- Canada has taken part in every Operation Thunder since it began in 2017, contributing intelligence, enforcement expertise, and inspection capacity.
- According to INTERPOL, the global illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be in the billions of unlawful profits every year.
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Contacts
Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
media@ec.gc.ca