|About Service Wildlife Inspectors|
Wildlife inspectors of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are the Nation’s front-line defense against the illegal wildlife trade — a criminal enterprise that threatens species worldwide. These professional import-export control officers ensure that
|About Service Wildlife Inspectors|
Wildlife inspectors of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are the Nation’s front-line defense against the illegal wildlife trade — a criminal enterprise that threatens species worldwide. These professional import-export control officers ensure that wildlife shipments comply with U.S. and international wildlife protection laws.
Stationed at the Nation’s major international airports, ocean ports, and border crossings, wildlife inspectors monitor an annual trade worth more than $2 billion. They stop illegal shipments, intercept smuggled wildlife and wildlife products, and help the United States fulfill its commitment to global wildlife conservation.
Where do inspectors work?
By law, most commercial wildlife shipments come through 18 “designated ports”— Anchorage, Alaska; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee; Miami, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington. The Service operates wildlife inspection offices in these cities. Inspectors also staff locations along the Mexican and Canadian borders and several additional ports that handle specific types of wildlife traffic.
What do inspectors do?
The United States is one of the world’s largest markets for wildlife and wildlife products. High-volume "live" traffic includes exotic reptiles, tropical fish, and primates. Manufactured products (such as boots, shoes, purses, jewelry, caviar, and meats) and less “processed” wildlife items (such as hunting trophies, feathers, furs, skins, raw coral, and shells) are also common.
Wildlife inspectors must understand and enforce a range of U.S. and international laws, regulations, and treaties that protect wildlife and limit commercial trade in endangered animals and plants. They must be able to identify thousands of different species, both live and as parts or products. Inspectors clear legal imports and exports and stop shipments that violate the law. They make sure that wildlife imports and exports are accompanied by the required permits and licenses and verify that the c