In the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Viet Nam, wildlife meat is considered a delicacy and a wide range of species are hunted for this purpose. Poaching and the illegal harvesting and trade of medicinal plants and animals has increased both in Mongolia and the Republic of Korea from where they are exported to the lucrative black markets of Pacific neighbours. In Pakistan, falcons are smuggled to the Middle East, lizards and snakes are killed for their skins, and crocodile hunting is still a popular sport and recreational activity.
Trade is a factor in the threatened assessment for 52 species of Asian freshwater turtles and tortoises. In 1999, an expert group considered 63 of the 84 species evaluated "threatened" following the IUCN Red List criteria.