John Scanlon was Secretary-General of the UN-affiliated Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species from 2010 until 2018

Louise Boyle
New York
10 hours ago

Illegal trade in pangolins is at a record high Illegal trade in pangolins is at a record high ( AP )

The former head of the global convention on international wildlife trade says that current rules surrounding legitimate enterprise “don’t cut it”
to prevent future pandemics and that wildlife crime should be confronted with the same international legal force that tackles human trafficking and terrorism.

John Scanlon served as Secretary-General of the Secretariat overseeing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) from 2010 until 2018.

CITES is affiliated with the United Nations Environment Programme and was established as a legally binding agreement to prevent the cross-border legal trade in wild animals and plants from threatening species survival.

The…