Illegal wildlife trade as crime against humanity

The harmful effects of the illegal wildlife trade are addressed in this contribution by highlighting the need to revisit the concepts of ecological justice, species justice, and environmental justice (White, 2011). I propose a discussion which attempts to open a space to consider how, precisely, species justice relates to individual rights and individual justice. I query whether species justice can or should – in terms of species survival – be prioritised over the individual rights of those belonging to the species. Or, on the other hand, I ask whether species justice can only be accomplished if the individual members of a species are not mistreated, exploited, and killed. The concluding part of this contribution addresses the broad question whether environmental rights are an extension of human rights and thus should be equally distributed to human and nonhuman species. Finally, a question remains: when rights are violated, are there mechanisms to deal with environmental trauma and environmental victimization