---
kind: "section"
citation: "16 U.S.C. § 7612"
title: "16"
title_heading: "Conservation"
number: "7612"
heading: "Statement of United States policy"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/16/7612"
units:
  - "Chapter 95 — Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking"
  - "Subchapter I — Purposes and Policy"
---

# §7612. Statement of United States policy


It is the policy of the United States—

- (1) to [take](/usc/16/3102.md?p=18) immediate actions to stop the illegal global trade in wildlife and wildlife products and associated transnational organized crime;
- (2) to provide technical and other forms of assistance to help [focus countries](/usc/16/7601.md?p=5) halt the poaching of elephants, rhinoceroses, and other imperiled species and end the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products, including by providing [training](/usc/16/7601.md?p=6) and assistance in—
  - (A) wildlife protection and management of wildlife populations;
  - (B) anti-poaching and effective management of protected [areas](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) including community managed and privately-owned lands;
  - (C) local engagement of [security forces](/usc/16/7601.md?p=10) in anti-poaching responsibilities, where appropriate;
  - (D) [wildlife trafficking](/usc/16/7601.md?p=12) investigative techniques, including forensic tools;
  - (E) transparency and corruption issues;
  - (F) management, tracking, and inventory of confiscated wildlife contraband;
  - (G) demand reduction strategies in countries that lack the means and resources to conduct them; and
  - (H) bilateral and multilateral agreements and cooperation;
- (3) to employ appropriate assets and resources of the United States Government in a coordinated manner to curtail poaching and disrupt and dismantle illegal wildlife trade networks and the financing of those networks in a manner appropriate for each [focus country](/usc/16/7601.md?p=5);
- (4) to build upon the [National Strategy](/usc/16/7601.md?p=8) and [Implementation Plan](/usc/16/7601.md?p=7) to further combat [wildlife trafficking](/usc/16/7601.md?p=12) in a holistic manner and guide the response of the United States Government to ensure progress in the fight against [wildlife trafficking](/usc/16/7601.md?p=12); and
- (5) to recognize the ties of [wildlife trafficking](/usc/16/7601.md?p=12) to broader forms of transnational organized criminal activities, including trafficking, and where applicable, to focus on those crimes in a coordinated, cross-cutting manner.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 114–231, title I, § 102, Oct. 7, 2016, 130 Stat. 951.)