COMBATTING WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME.

Our Mission.

WE EXIST TO EXPOSE, PREVENT AND DISTRUPT WILDLIFE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME THROUGH GROUND-BREAKING RESEARCH AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS.

About Us.

OUR RESEARCH MAKES IT EASIER TO DETECT ANIMAL SMUGGLERS.

Our pioneering research hub provides vital research support and training to strengthen enforcement and compliance efforts, while also advancing education and public awareness. We are adopting cutting-edge technologies, shaping regulatory and legal frameworks, and translating our findings into practical tools and resources. The Wildlife Crime Research Hub is bolstering Australia’s environmental security and helping to establish a globally exportable wildlife crime technology sector.

LEADERSHIP TEAM.

Professor Phill Cassey

Phill is the Director of the Wildlife Crime Research Hub. He is an inaugural Australian Research Council Industry Laureate Fellow, working to ‘Combat Wildlife Crime and Prevent Environmental Harm’. As a global change biologist, he has worked internationally in Wildlife Conservation for 20+ years, and is globally recognised as an expert in Environmental Biosecurity and researching the illegal wildlife trade. In 2019 he was named an Australian Research Leader in ‘Life & Environmental Sciences’. Phill is highly experienced at leading multiple research teams and driving a systemic culture of excellence, creativity, innovation and inclusiveness. Under his leadership the Wildlife Crime and Research Hub will co-deliver the tools, stewardship, and training required to secure Australia’s environmental assets and natural capital from current and future threats of wildlife crime.

Katie Smith

Katie is the Manager of the Wildlife Crime Research Hub. With a background in ecology, science communication, and policy, she brings a strong blend of writing, strategic thinking, project coordination, leadership, and stakeholder engagement skills. Katie leads a range of initiatives aimed at engaging end users and government stakeholders, supporting the adoption of research tools, increasing public awareness, and fostering novel partnerships. Her work plays a key role in translating science into actionable outcomes, driving innovative solutions to address wildlife crime.

Our Research.

WHAT WE DO.

The Wildlife Crime Research Hub, at the University of Adelaide, provides world-leading research support to Australasian practitioners and policymakers who are working to combat wildlife and environmental crime. We aim to deliver critical research support and infrastructure for enabling policing and enforcement activities, as well as enhancing education and awareness efforts, through four inter-related themes:

  • Understanding.

    A deeper and clearer understanding of wildlife and environmental crimes via readily available situational mapping and predictive analyses of the crime types, costs, and criminal motivations across the Australasian region.

  • Innovation.

    An innovation suite of fit-for-purpose, cheaper, and more effective tools for identifying, prosecuting, and preventing wildlife and environmental crimes.

  • Enforcement.

    The evaluation of national policy and enforcement strategies for combatting wildlife and environmental crimes; including ‘situational crime’ prevention, and social ‘prevention of engagement’.

  • Protection.

    Greater public reporting, as well as raising social and political awareness, for the protection and future safeguarding of Australia’s unique wildlife and environmental assets, including reviews of legislation and penalties.

The Science.

Our Team.

WHO ARE WE?

We are an interdisciplinary team of experts driving impactful solutions to environmental challenges. With internationally recognised strengths in environmental biosecurity, wildlife trade, forestry and fisheries crime prevention, remote sensing, wildlife forensics, cyber-crime and natural resources law, we are dedicated to safeguarding our planet's ecosystems through cutting-edge research and collaboration.

Join the fight.

HELP US MAKE IT EASIER TO DETECT ANIMAL SMUGGLERS.

Animal traffickers too often evade detection.

When you support the Wildlife Crime Research Hub, you’re supporting research that creates smarter detection methods in parcels and airports, making smuggling much easier to spot.

We work to expose trafficking before animals ever leave the country, ensuring our wildlife stays where it belongs - safe in Australia.

Stay informed about our ongoing efforts to uncover wildlife trafficking and protect Australia’s natural heritage.

Acknowledgment of Country.

We acknowledge the Kaurna Meyunna, as the unceded custodians of the Adelaide Hills and Plains - the lands on which we live, learn, and work.

CONTACT US.

WILDLIFE CRIME RESEARCH HUB
The University of Adelaide
Adelaide, South Australia
5005 Australia

cwec@adelaide.edu.au

www.wildlifecrimeresearchhub.org