From commercial fisheries to luxury fashion components and exotic pets, millions of natural products travel through a complex, often invisible marketplace every single day. When managed sustainably and legally, wildlife trade serves as a vital lifeline, supporting local communities, ensuring food security, and funding crucial conservation initiatives on the front lines. However, when trade spirals out of control, it fuels a multi-billion-pound criminal industry that pushes endangered species toward extinction and destabilises delicate ecosystems.  

The trail runs throughout the summer season and features distinct species labels integrated across the upper and lower galleries. Visitors can explore the stories behind complex trade networks affecting everything from European eels and South African abalone to critically endangered lemurs and local songbirds.  

Alongside the species trail, a dedicated feature spotlight showcases TRAFFIC's pioneering 3D Shark Fin Identification Kit. This innovative, open-access project provides maritime border customs officers with exact, durable 3D-printed replicas of protected shark fins, allowing rapid visual enforcement to halt illegal trafficking at international ports.

Plan your visit to the museum this summer to discover how creative thinking, evidence-based research, and community action are transforming wildlife trade from a conservation threat into a conservation solution.  

• Dates: Opening June 11th – lasting through the summer. 

• Admission: Free entry.  

• Location: Museum of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge.  

The Wolfson Foundation is an independent grant-making charity with a focus on research and education. Its aim is to contribute to civil society by supporting high-quality projects in science, health, heritage, humanities and the arts. Since it was established in 1955, the Wolfson Foundation has awarded over £1 billion (£2 billion in real terms) to around 14,000 projects throughout the UK, all on the basis of expert review.

TRAFFIC gratefully acknowledge Arcadia, the Postcode Animal Trust and players of Postcode Lottery. Their generosity not only helped make the wildlife trade trail possible, but also supports vital conservation of many of the featured animals.

Many thanks to Ghost Fishing UK for supplying the nets for the 3D shark fin display. Discarded fishing gear like this is being collected from the oceans around the UK by Ghost Fishing, helping to restore ocean health.