THE illegal trade in protected wildlife is booming and is
second only to drugs in volume and money. In Animal Planet's brand new series
Crime Scene Wild, Steve Galster enters this seedy world and goes undercover to
reveal and document some of the worst crimes in the wildlife world. Using
cutting-edge forensic and DNA technology to track wildlife smugglers and catch
them in the act, Crime Scene Wild provides viewers with a behind-the-scenes look
into the world of illegal wildlife trade. This six part series premieres every
Monday beginning February 18 from 9 to 10 p.m. and encores every Sunday at 2
p.m.
Crime Scene Wild looks into the world's rarest and best loved
species most at risk - elephants, tigers, antelopes, chimpanzees and bears to
name a few - and throughout, hideous animal cruelty is highlighted including the
live butchery in the sharks fin trade and the slaughtering of caged bears milked
for their bile. Traveling across the globe to Australia, Central Africa, Costa
Rica, El Salvador, London, Taiwan, Tibet and the United States, Steve follows
the trail of murder and cruelty to uncover the secrets of the billion dollar
illegal trade industry. Not only are many of the animals threatened to the brink
of extinction, but the people most passionate about protecting them are also not
spared as they are shot at and even killed for standing their ground against the
merciless poachers. In this series, Steve takes a direct approach to this grisly
world of animal crime and is backed by organizations that work more like crack
military units than traditional conservationists.
Each week, Steve sets out to solve a wildlife crime using DNA forensic
techniques to identify and locate the perpetrators. He then investigates who
gets the profits from the sale of these animals and their parts, and attempts to
break the racket by uncovering the mastermind behind the ring.
