Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group

About us

The Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group was established in 2007. We aim to quantify all aspects of the trade in wild animals and plants through multidisciplinary teamwork including anthropology, social sciences, natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, environmental economics and legislation.

There is a strong focus on wildlife trade in tropical countries, as this is where most of the world biodiversity resides and where the impacts of wildlife trade are arguably the greatest. However, recognising that wildlife trade is a truly global enterprise, we do focus on the role of consumer countries as well, wherever these are situated.

More about the group

Reptile skinning facility, Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia

Research impact

Wildlife for sale, Yunnan Province, China.

We support and provide data to better regulate wildlife trade and to highlight threats posed by unsustainable use of animals and plants, including input for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the IUCN Red List.

We regularly contribute to investigative articles, including publications in the New York Times, National Geographic and BBC News.

Leadership

Professor Vincent Nijman

Professor in Anthropology

View profile

Key publications

  • Nijman V, Chavez J, Simons D, Siriwat P, Widiaswari RA, Svensson MS 2025. Quantifying illegal rosewood trade, seizures and forestry law enforcement in Indonesia. Applied Geography 176, 103509.
  • Nijman V, Abdullah A, Adinda E, Ardiansyah A, Campera M, et al. 2024. Indonesia's Sustainable Development Goals in relation to curbing and monitoring the illegal wildlife trade. Sustainable Development, 32 (5), 5393-5403.
  • Svensson MS, Nijman V, Shepherd CR 2023. Insights into the primate trade into the European Union and the United Kingdom. European Journal of Wildlife Research 69 (3), 51.
  • Nijman V 2021. Illegal and legal wildlife trade spreads zoonotic diseases. Trends in Parasitology 37 (5), 359-360.
  • Harrison M, Cheyne SM, Darma F, Ribowo DA, et al. 2011. Hunting of flying foxes and perception of disease risk in Indonesian Borneo. Biological Conservation 144 (10), 2441-2449.