North Korea’s illegal wildlife trade threatens endangered species, study finds

The North Korean government engages in unsustainable and illegal wildlife trade, which includes species protected under its own laws and poses a threat to biodiversity recovery in the region, finds a new study by UCL researchers.

A report, published in Biological Conservation, found that although North Korea has a regulatory system of protected areas and protected species, these are regularly breached by people hunting and trapping wild animals for personal consumption or black market trade, either domestically or for sale to buyers in China.

Additionally, the North Korean state itself is implicated in, and actively profiting from, the harvesting and trade of endangered species protected under domestic or international law. Protected species reported from the state wildlife trade include Asiatic black bears, long-tailed gorals and Eurasian otters.

Their study is based on extensive interviews with North Korean defectors, including former hunters, wildlife trade middlemen and buyers, and is the first in-depth assessment of North Korea’s multifaceted wildlife trade, carried out between 2021 and 2022. The study was carried out in collaboration with researchers from the ZSL’s Institute of Zoology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) and University of Inland Norway.

The researchers argue that the North Korean government’s compliance with domestic protected species legislation should be an immediate priority. They call on China, as a key market for North Korean wildlife products, to continue efforts to curb domestic demand for illegal wildlife and put diplomatic pressure on its economically dependent neighbor to disengage from state-sanctioned illegal wildlife trade.

Lead author Dr. Joshua Elves-Powell (UCL Geography) said, “The widespread harvesting of North Korea’s wildlife, driven by the economic limitations of the North Korean state and the shortages of food, medicine and basic goods experienced by many of its citizens, is an important threat to the biodiversity of North Korea and the wider region.”

China is the primary international market for the North Korean wildlife trade, with notable products including wild meat, furs, and body parts for use in traditional medicine.

Some of this trade breaches China’s commitments as a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and member of the UN Security Council, for example, UN Security Council Resolution 2397, which prohibits the export of food from North Korea.

State wildlife trade

North Korean defectors who took part in the study reported that the North Korean state receives wild animals and their body parts from state-sanctioned hunters and local communities.

The study found this includes species which are legally protected in North Korea, including long-tailed gorals—hoofed mammals resembling a goat—and Eurasian otters. These species have been used domestically, for example, furs in the manufacture of winter clothing, but they are also reported to be used as a tradable resource.

This is in keeping with North Korea’s use of natural resources such as timber and coal, but also illegal trade in weapons and narcotics, to generate revenue.

The study also details that the North Korean state operates wildlife farms, including animals such as otters, pheasants, deer, and Asiatic black bears. North Korea is believed to have first started farming bears for their bile in the 20th century, before the practice spread to China and South Korea. Bear bile has been used in various traditional Asian medicines, including traditional Korean medicine and traditional Chinese medicine.

Bear bile farming has been widely condemned by conservationists and animal welfare campaigners for perpetuating the demand for endangered species and the unnecessary suffering of farmed animals.

Economic hardship drives black market trade

In addition, the report identifies economic hardship as a major driver of the black market wildlife trade in North Korea. A wide range of animals are reported to be hunted and trapped for meat, for use in traditional medicine, to protect crops or domestic livestock, or for sale on the black market.

When North Korea’s economy collapsed in the 1990s, preceding a major famine which is believed to have killed between 600,000 and one million people, the country’s informal economy grew rapidly, as ordinary citizens turned to buying and selling goods, including wildlife, to provide essential food resources and generate income.

While economic conditions in North Korea have since improved, the researchers found no evidence that black market trade in wildlife has halted.

Dr. Elves-Powell said, “A hunter might simultaneously engage in both state-sanctioned and black market trade. For example, the skin of an animal like a red fox might be submitted to the state, but it might equally be sold to North Korean middlemen to smuggle across the North Korea-China border. The hunter could keep the animal’s meat—a valuable food resource—for their family, or try to sell it locally.”

Impact on biodiversity

North Korea’s extensive harvesting of wildlife has serious consequences for the country’s wildlife populations, with evidence that almost all native mammal species larger than half a kilogram have been targeted in some capacity.

The sable, a native species of marten, was highly sought after by North Korean hunters for its fur but is now likely to be functionally extinct in the country. There are similar concerns regarding Amur tigers and Amur leopards, while deer populations are also thought to have been severely reduced due to overhunting.

The researchers warn that if exploitation in North Korea continues to pose a risk to wildlife populations, it could threaten biodiversity recovery throughout the region.

In recent years, Amur tiger populations have started to recover along North Korea’s border with China, but are likely to be targeted by hunters if they cross into North Korea. North Korea could also act as a barrier to the movements of native terrestrial species between the Korean Peninsula and mainland Asia.