Organised wildlife criminals will face prison sentences of at least four years in a crackdown on poachers, smugglers and illegal trophy hunters that the European commission is due to launch on Friday.

An action plan seen by the Guardian would force all EU countries to consider major wildlife trafficking a grave offence under the UN’s convention against transnational organised crime.

The environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella told the Guardian the package was “a bold step forward”.

He said: “It is essential that we work together. All 28 member states must consider wildlife trafficking as a serious crime. The plan will help on coordination with Europol. At a local level, communities must feel economically invested in conservation. Then we can truly tackle the issue.”

The new sentencing policy would end current legal loopholes that leave wildlife crimes in many central and eastern European countries punishable by fines and non-custodial sentences.

Only 11 EU countries imposed prison sentences on wildlife criminals in 2013-14 according to an EU staff working document on wildlife crime, seen by the Guardian.

“Concern has been expressed in a number of reports that the severity of fines and prison sentences imposed in the EU fails to reflect the seriousness of the crimes and the value of the wildlife on the international (black) market, and lack deterrent effect,” the paper says.

Werner Gowitzke, an environmental crime officer for Europol said: “The fact is that different penalties in different member states can create a bias for organised crime groups to base their activities in one country or another.”

Other measures proposed in the action plan would see checks on illegal imports of ivory and hunting trophies stepped up across the continent, with Europol officers assigned to more international operations against wildlife criminals.

EU aid and trade policy would also be increasingly used to target a dramatic surge in illegal poaching, with local communities helped to find alternative sources of income. The bloc has invested €160m in projects to tackle the problem in Africa. It is not known if more funds will be forthcoming.

“Organised wildlife crime is currently low risk, weak penalty and high profit,” said Staci McLennan, a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “If we want it to be viewed more seriously we need to enact higher penalties, write better sentencing guidelines for prosecutors and judges, and better educate the public.”



A review later this year will examine whether new legislation is needed across the EU to tackle environmental crime, but the scale of the problem is not in question.

Poaching is considered the main reason why tiger populations have fallen by 97% in the last century and why elephant populations in countries such as Tanzania have fallen by 60% in the last five years.



A spike in organised wildlife crime since 2007 has seen rhino poaching soar by 900% in South Africa, threatening the survival of some species, while the illegal ivory trade has more than doubled. Under the new plan, ivory traders in Europe will be restricted to selling antique items made from long-dead elephants.

Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, the Dutch MEP whose parliamentary resolution kick-started the EU’s new plan, said that it was a thorough proposal which afforded wildlife crime the priority it deserved. “Every twenty minutes an elephant is slaughtered,” he told the Guardian. “We cannot wait any longer. We need to act now.”

The Liberal MEP Catherine Bearder added: “We can only tackle this issue by taking a coordinated approach, tackling the root causes of poaching and cracking down on the criminal gangs making billions from this despicable trade.”

Experts view cross-border coordination, and cooperation between different national agencies that deal with crime, customs and the environment as a crucial issue in the fight against wildlife traffickers.

Law enforcement priorities would be set jointly and consistently between countries under the EU plan, with Europol and Eurojust providing dedicated support for cross-border operations and investigation teams.

Memorandums of understanding and regular data exchanges would transform the way that wildlife crime cases are handled. Cyber-crime would also be singled out for attention, as illegal wildlife traders increasingly move their business online.

Demand reduction programmes would attempt to tackle the cachet that boosts sales of illegal ivory products in Asia. More checks of European pet shops, breeders and nurseries are also promised in the package.

“This is a very ambitious plan that take wildlife crime seriously and puts trafficking on the priority agenda for politicians,” said Emilie van Henst, a spokeswoman for WWF. “The European commission is definitely on board and wants to raise the profile of this fight and we are veryt pleased to see that.”