Wildlife Trafficking Investigators Program

Published May 31, 2019

Today, May 31, we concluded another highly effective two-week course: Wildlife Trafficking Investigators Program (WTIP) (MASTER), May 20 - 31, 2019, with 22 brand new Alumni from three participating countries. Ilea Budapest congratulates the delegations from Croatia, Romania, and Serbia on their excellent participation in the course, which was taught by outstanding instructors from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

If you are not quite familiar with this course yet, let us provide you with a brief summary of the main themes and objectives of the curriculum. This two-week training provides an overview of various wildlife trafficking investigative topics which are reinforced through field exercises. The curriculum focuses on endangered species law; CITES wildlife trade data; wildlife identification; case initiation and management; digital evidence; forensics and crime scene processing; surveillance; undercover operations; money laundering; interviewing; ethics and corruptions; raid planning; report writing and court preparation. It encourages interaction between instructors and class participants and concentrates on exchange of information and techniques by FWS in combating wildlife trafficking using investigative techniques in the United States. Participants are also given the opportunity to use field equipment that supports wildlife investigations. The course emphasizes the importance of developing and maintaining global contacts to exchange intelligence between countries, this open dialogue throughout the course provides the opportunity for host nations to gain insights on specific wildlife trafficking problems being faced by the participating countries. Instructors offer techniques and methods available to combat specific wildlife investigative issues. This exchange of intelligence and cooperation on investigations is crucial in combating international wildlife trafficking.

This program launched four years ago in 2016 as a pilot course, and turned out to be so efficient, that ILEA offers it yearly every since. This was also the first training which brought back an Alumnus to be a presenter, and later, a permanent member of the instructors team. We highly recommend reading our latest Alumni in Focus story which highlights our Alumnus, Lt. Daniel Zivocky, and his contributions to the success of the course. Follow the LINK for more details, and be inspired by Daniel's path.

LIKE us on Facebook, and see more photos posted on the course.