The true scale of global wildlife trade is obscured by data gaps

Overexploitation of wildlife is one of the greatest global drivers of biodiversity loss. Yet, despite this well-established risk, data on extraction and trade are both incomplete and highly fragmented. The IPBES Global analysis estimated 50,000 species to be in trade, yet our review of wildlife trade monitoring programs found at least double that, at 107,356 species in use and trade globally. This included up to 47,685 animal species, covering 42% of all described vertebrate species. Most countries lack any systematic data on trade for species not listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), with the exception of the US-specific dataset Law Enforcement Management Information System, which frequently had higher diversity of species in trade than global databases. This highlights the importance of national monitoring efforts and the need for standardized collation of wildlife trade data beyond CITES-listed species. Without these changes, global indicators on trade meant to guide sustainability and conservation will continue to focus on less than 2% of traded species.