Research overview: forensic genetics for wildlife trafficking

Forensic science has become a powerful tool against the illegal trade in big cat parts, allowing seized skins, bones, and other products to be identified to species, and sometimes to population or individual, through genetic and other analyses. This overview surveys research developing and applying wildlife forensics to trafficking of tigers, leopards, lions, and snow leopards. Studies build reference databases and validated methods so that evidence can stand up in court, enabling prosecution and helping trace trafficking routes back to source populations. Researchers also use forensics to detect laundering of wild-sourced animals through captive operations. The overview frames forensic genetics as a bridge between conservation science and law enforcement, turning confiscated contraband into actionable intelligence and admissible evidence. It matters because strong prosecutions depend on rigorous identification, and forensics increases the legal risk to traffickers who exploit the difficulty of proving the origin of processed wildlife products.