Guidelines for addressing disease risks in wildlife trade

Abstract

Wildlife trade for commercial and subsistence purposes has a long history and economic, cultural and religious value, but also presents potential trade-offs, including for human and animal (domestic and wild) health, animal welfare, species conservation, and ecosystems. Understanding and balancing the many dimensions of trade requires a holistic approach. To assist in decision making, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) undertook a process to develop draft guidelines, convening a multi-sectoral ad hoc group, reinforced with expertise from a WOAH Collaborating Centre and a peer review process. The draft guidelines were piloted through a workshop series in Bangkok, Thailand, informing their refinement and finalization. The Guidelines for Addressing Disease Risks in Wildlife Trade, published in May 2024, present a high-level framework to assess risk and identify risk-management strategies for wildlife trade. The Guidelines are structured by four main sections, stakeholder engagement and system mapping; risk analysis (the stages of hazard identification, risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication); monitoring and evaluation; and tools and guidance. Rather than being prescriptive, the Guidelines can be a basis for advancing context-specific approaches to addressing disease risk in the wildlife trade using a One Health lens, supported by workshops and multi-sectoral collaboration to strengthen risk analysis competencies and implementation. This paper describes the process of developing the Guidelines and summarizes their content and anticipated use.