Indianapolis – June 20, 2025. Illegal wildlife trafficking feeds a growing market for exotic pets, bushmeat, and animal parts used to make non-essential luxury items. It’s a profitable crime that generates between $7.8 billion and $10 billion dollars annually, per estimates from the Wildlife Conservation Society. These violent organized cartels, which are usually aligned with human, drug, and arms trafficking, pose a major threat to national security and public safety. Wildlife trafficking also introduces potentially infectious diseases into the U.S., threatens endangered species, and damages the economies of struggling communities dependent on these animals for tourism. In the process, animals are traumatized, ripped from their native homes, and inhumanely forced to endure long periods of travel. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) handled 834 cases involving 49,000 individual confiscated animals between 2015 and 2019 alone. Meanwhile, the U.S. Border Patrol is ill-equipped to provide the immediate care and medical attention these animals require.
To help rectify this situation, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (NY-2) has introduced the Wildlife Confiscations Network Act of 2025 (H.R. 3538), a federal bill designed to simplify the process of caring for confiscated animals at the border. The National Police Association (NPA) endorses this bill, which is currently under consideration in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. The text for the bill is here.
This bipartisan bill calls upon the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to establish a voluntary program that expands on the work of the Southern California Wildlife Confiscations Network. This regional pilot program, created in 2023 by USFWS and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), has already provided dedicated care to more than 4,100 animals.
The focal point of this bill is the formation of a centralized network connecting a nationwide database of certified zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, and other credentialed care facilities with federal law enforcement officers. The network would also address the challenges U.S. Border Patrol Agents and other wildlife enforcement officers confront, including the lack of adequate holding facilities. The bill authorizes $5 million annually from 2026 to 2030 to support this work.
“Wildlife trafficking is a threat to public health and safety, harms global economies, places endangered species at risk, and causes untold suffering for millions of animals who are sold for illicit profits. The rise in this heinous crime category has also placed a burden on Border Patrol, which doesn’t have the capacity to care for the growing influx of confiscated animals,” said Paula Fitzsimmons, Legislative Director, National Police Association. “A more coordinated response, which the Wildlife Confiscations Network Act of 2025 proposes, would result in better care for traumatized animals, while allowing law enforcement to focus on the important work of combating wildlife trafficking and other crimes,” Fitzsimmons added.
The NPA extends its gratitude to Rep. Garbarino for introducing the Wildlife Confiscations Network Act of 2025, a bill designed to simplify the process of providing credentialed care to animals confiscated at the border. In the interest of public health and safety, animal welfare, and combating the plague of wildlife trafficking, we urge all members of Congress to support this critical bill.
About the National Police Association: The National Police Association (NPA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting law enforcement efforts through advocacy, education, and law. For more information, visit NationalPolice.org.
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