{"id":2208664,"date":"2026-10-23T18:00:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2208664"},"modified":"2026-10-17T14:22:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T12:22:49","slug":"researchers-uncover-hidden-routes-and-patterns-of-amazon-wildlife-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/researchers-uncover-hidden-routes-and-patterns-of-amazon-wildlife-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers uncover hidden routes and patterns of Amazon wildlife trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home of the world\u2019s largest biodiversity, the Brazilian Amazon is one of the main hubs for international wildlife trafficking. Every day, thousands of animals are taken from the rainforest to be sold in other parts of the country and abroad. Despite its key role in this illegal market, there is still a lack of information about wildlife trafficking in the region.
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\nData on animal seizures is scattered at the municipal, state and federal levels. The lack of an integrated system, along with the region\u2019s vast territories and porous international borders, makes it difficult to get a full picture of wildlife trafficking in the rainforest.
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\n\u201cEvery river you travel on in the Amazon will have traffic incidents,\u201d conservation intelligence specialist Ant\u00f4nio de Carvalho, from the conservation NGO WCS Brazil, told Mongabay in a phone interview.
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\nWCS Brazil is currently working on a Global Wildlife Trafficking Observatory, which will rely on artificial intelligence to gather information about wildlife trafficking from news websites and academic researchers. The goal is to support the work of investigators, environmental agents and journalists.
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\n\u201cA lot of data on seizures is lost because the seizure is simply carried out and the animals are released right there on the spot, and that doesn\u2019t even make it into official statistics,\u201d Carvalho said.<\/p>\n

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The zebra pleco (Hypancistrus zebra) lives only in a small stretch of the Xingu River, in Par\u00e1, and is highly coveted as an ornamental fish. Image courtesy of Birger A.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In another attempt to close this information gap and help shape strategies to protect Brazil\u2019s biodiversity, researchers analyzed 34 scientific papers about wildlife trafficking in the Brazilian Amazon to identify the main drivers, routes and targeted species. The study<\/a> was published in July in Human Ecology<\/em>.
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\n\u201cI felt that a broader perspective [on the topic] was missing \u2014 like a bird\u2019s-eye view,\u201d lead author Marta Custodio Lopes, from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, told Mongabay in an interview.
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\nThe study identified 137 wild animal species being illegally traded in the Brazilian Amazon. Most of them were birds (36.4%), followed by mammals (28.4%), reptiles (18.9%) and fishes (15.3%).
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\n\u201cThroughout Brazil, birds are the main drivers of traffic, and in the Amazon I encountered a wide variety of bird species [being illegally traded],\u201d Lopes said.<\/p>\n

Unlike other parts of the country, however, the pet trade is not the only driver of bird trafficking in the Amazon. \u201cThere were many large and medium-sized bird species that were used for food, which is a more local characteristic,\u201d she explained.
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\nFood is also a huge driver for trafficking of Amazon turtles and their eggs, which are consumed in Brazil and smuggled to neighboring countries. According to Carvalho, a well-known route crosses the border with Peru and then reaches Asian countries. \u201cPodocnemis [a genus of freshwater turtles] hatchlings arrive in Asia and are taken to farms, where they are fed as if they were fish. There, they grow and are slaughtered,\u201d he said.
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\nMedicinal, spiritual and religious purposes are also main drivers of wildlife trafficking in the Brazilian Amazon, Lopes\u2019 research found.<\/p>\n

\"Birds
Birds are among the main targets of wildlife trafficking in the Amazon, and are often sold in open air markets across the country. Image courtesy of Daiane Cortes\/IBAMA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI found it interesting that more than a third of the species trafficked are used for mystical and religious purposes,\u201d biodiversity consultant Sandra Charity told Mongabay. \u201cBut I felt there was a lack of results that would justify a tourism-oriented purpose \u2014 for example, \u2018ecotourism\u2019 experiences involving swimming with captive river dolphins, as well as the dozens of mini-zoos scattered throughout the Amazon.\u201d
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\nIn 2020, Charity and Juliana Ferreira, executive director at Freeland Brasil, produced a comprehensive report on wildlife trafficking in Brazil for the international NGO Traffic. They relied on a variety of data, including wildlife seizures from IBAMA, Brazil\u2019s environmental agency, media reports and interviews with environmental agents.
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\nLopes\u2019 study, in turn, relies solely on peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals, which limits its scope to areas most accessible to academic researchers. \u201cWe have several blind spots where I haven\u2019t found any articles,\u201d Lopes said. \u201cResearchers don\u2019t have the funds to conduct research far from river channels or state capitals.\u201d
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Neighboring countries serve as export hubs<\/h2>\n

\u200bMany traffickers use Brazil\u2019s neighboring countries as export hubs for the Amazon wildlife. One example is the zebra pleco (Hypancistrus zebra<\/em>), a critically endangered fish endemic to the Xingu River, in Par\u00e1 state. Highly coveted as an ornamental fish, the species travels 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) in the hands of traffickers to reach the tri-border area between Brazil, Colombia and Peru.
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\n\u201cIt leaves the Xingu region, crosses the entire state of Amazonas to reach the border, and once it enters Colombia, it is sold to countries such as the United States and Germany,\u201d Carvalho said. In early September, Mongabay reported that the zebra pleco was also for sale at Bangkok\u2019s Chatuchak Market in Thailand. According to Carvalho, Amazon river people are paid around one real ($0.19) per fish, which are sold up to 300 reais ($58) in the United States. \u201cIt becomes very valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Map
Map with the main wildlife trafficking routes in the Brazilian Amazon. Image from \u201cThe Illegal Wildlife Trade in the Brazilian Amazon: A Systematic Review of Patterns, Routes, and Drivers,\u201d published in Human Ecology.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The municipalities of Tabatinga, in Brazil, and Let\u00edcia, in Colombia, are separated by a single street and considered \u201cmandatory checkpoints along the trafficking route\u201d according to Traffic\u2019s 2020 report. \u201cIn this border region, wild animals such as freshwater turtles and fish for consumption are transported and sold in large quantities,\u201d the report states.
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\nOther important wildlife trafficking routes go through Guyana and Suriname. Unlike Brazil, these countries allow the capture and trade of certain quantities of native animals. According to experts, animals illegally captured in Brazil are laundered in these countries and then sent to other international markets.
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\n\u201cThe routes are determined by the relative ease with which the illegal origin of many Pan-Amazonian species can be laundered,\u201d Charity said. According to her, wildlife trafficking in the Brazilian Amazon has been increasingly linked to other environmental crimes, such as illegal logging, and to cartels.<\/p>\n

Citation:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lopes, M. C., Alves, R. R. D. N., Schiel, N., \u2026 De la Fuente, M. F. (2026). The Illegal Wildlife Trade in the Brazilian Amazon: A Systematic Review of Patterns, Routes, and Drivers. Human Ecology<\/em>, 54<\/em>(4), 59. doi:10.1007\/s10745-026-00715-z<\/a><\/p>\n

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This article<\/a> by Fernanda Wenzel was first published by Mongabay on 14 October 2026. Lead Image: Some species of Amazon turtles, such as the yellow-spotted river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis), are part of the diet of many Amazon people. Image courtesy of Valdemir Cunha\/Greenpeace.<\/em><\/p>\n