A data set of the crackdown on cross-border wildlife crimes in China, 2014-2020

Wildlife crimes that involve smuggling threaten national security and biodiversity, cause regional conflicts, and hinder economic development, especially in developing countries with abundant wildlife resources. Over the past few decades, significant headway has been made in combating wildlife smuggling and the related illegal domestic trade in China. Previous studies on the wildlife smuggling trade were based mainly on customs punishment and confiscation data. From the China Judgments Online website, we retrieved cases related to cross-border wildlife and wildlife products smuggling from 2014 to 2020. In total, 510 available cases and 927 records for more than 110 species were registered. We studied each judgment and ruling file thoroughly to extract information on cases, defendants, species, sentences, and origins and destinations of wildlife and wildlife products. Furthermore, the frequency of origin-destination place occurrences and spatial patterns of cross-border wildlife crime in China were shown in this data paper. The main purpose of our data set is to make these wildlife and wildlife products trade data accessible for researchers to develop conservation studies. We expect that this data set will be valuable for network analysis of regional or global wildlife trafficking, which has attracted global attention. There are no copyright restrictions on the data; we ask that researchers please cite this paper and the associated data set when using the data in publications.

Automated summary

Wildlife crimes that involve smuggling pose threats to national security and biodiversity, create regional conflicts, and hinder economic development, particularly in developing countries rich in wildlife resources. This study retrieved and analyzed 510 cases and 927 records related to cross-border wildlife and wildlife products smuggling in China from 2014 to 2020. The main purpose of this data set is to provide accessible information for researchers to develop conservation studies and network analysis on regional or global wildlife trafficking.