Ministers considering spearheading international crackdown on wildlife smugglers to treat them as harshly as arms dealers
The UK s wildlife crime chief has written a UN proposal which would allow countries to criminalise international smuggling
Animals such as the pangolin are facing extinction due to the illegal wildlife trade
Ministers are considering introducing laws that could see wildlife smugglers treated as harshly as arms and drug traffickers, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
John Scanlon, the new International Wildlife Crime chief appointed by the government has called for a new international agreement, meaning that if wildlife is stolen from another country and taken to the UK, the culprit will be heavily sanctioned under UK law.