IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Ifaw, | |
| Caught in the web - Wildlife trade on the Internet | |
| 2005 Full Book | |
The Internet has revolutionised our lives and opened up huge opportunities for doing business and communicating. However, it also provides increased opportunities for the unscrupulous or the criminal to operate, taking advantage of the unregulated and impersonal nature of transactions. The trade, both legal and illegal, in live and dead animals (including body parts) is increasing and the Internet is coming to play a central role in the activities of illegal traders. This trade has devastating implications for both wildlife conservation and animal welfare. Whole species risk being wiped out by over-exploitation. Millions of animals caught up in the trade suffer immensely and many die, resulting in yet more being taken from the wild. For this report, IFAW UK monitored the nature and scale of wildlife trade on the Internet over several months. We found that, each week, thousands of animals and animal parts - from live primates to stuffed polar bears, from giant ivory tusks to tiny dried seahorses - are being offered for sale on the Internet. IFAW found a shocking array of species for sale in which all commercial trade is legally prohibited or strictly regulated. Within an intensive one week survey, we found over 9,000 wild animal products and specimens and live wild animals for sale, predominantly from species protected by law. A further 122 traders were identified, each advertising an unspecified number of items - often in sizeable quantities. Our survey was limited to certain species and products, so the figures cited here represent only the tip of the iceberg of Internet trade in protected species. Illegal wildlife trade is now an arrestable offence in the UK and some aspects of the trade are classified as serious and organised crime. However, the increasing use of the Internet to organise illegal wildlife trade poses new challenges to legislators and enforcement agencies. The Government, the intelligence service and other enforcement agencies in the UK have recognised the problem and have already devoted resources to tackling it, although these are insufficient to deal with the apparent scale of the trade. Even establishing the actual scale of wildlife crime is complicated by the lack of truly reliable data and this is particularly the case in relation to Internet trade. A series of reports have called for a better understanding of how much illegal trading is organised over the Internet to assist in taking concerted action to disrupt criminal activity. The legal framework that applies to Internet trade in wildlife, including live animals, spans national, regional and international legislation relating to endangered species, animal welfare and Internet trading. Contemporary international law has fallen behind in its consideration of commercial Internet activity. Specific laws to combat abuses are not yet well developed at the international level, although there is a recognition that concerted action is best taken globally. Some individuals are taking advantage of this situation to perpetrate illegal wildlife trade. Whether or not traders are aware that they are breaking the law, the negative impact on endangered species and on the welfare of individual animals is the same. However, it is also currently far too difficult for those buyers and sellers wishing to act within the law to check what can be legally sold or to report suspect items. The information that is available is often inadequate and difficult to access. Auction sites on which wildlife is traded have taken very limited voluntary action to inform users or to facilitate reporting of potentially illegal wildlife items. The lack of information available on auction sites may be in part a consequence of the lack of gravity accorded to wildlife crime in general. This situation must be remedied urgently through statutory regulation. Attempts have been made to address the use of the Internet to commit or facilitate other types of crime. This report considers options for regulation and enforcement that have been applied in the areas of child pornography, online pharmacies and defamation. These provide valuable models for more effective and relevant regulation of wildlife trade. |
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