During February I conducted an Investigation on the Wildlife trade in Portugal via Internet, the so called, e-commerce.
International trafficking in wildlife is estimated to reach well into the billions of Euros annually – a black market rivaling the size of the international trade in illegal drugs and weapons. Every year thousands of elephants are illegally slaughtered in Africa and Asia to meet a growing demand for ivory products.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has three levels of protection for threatened species[1].
The highest level of protection is afforded to the more than 800 Appendix I species designated as being in immediate danger of extinction[2]. With very few exceptions, commercial trade in Appendix I species is banned. These species include the highly vulnerable species like elephant, tiger, gorilla and marine turtle, along with a large number of additional wild cats, parrots, parakeets, cockatoos and macaws.
Species listed on CITES Appendix II are recognized to require protection from trade, but not to the point of a ban. While trade may be allowed in Appendix II species, any international trade or transfer of such an animal or its derivative products requires an export permit issued by the authorities of the nation where the animal product is located and in some instances an import permit issued by the country where the animal product will be received. In theory, these restrictions on trade in Appendix II species are designed to regulate trade in order to ensure that these species are not exploited to the point where they require Appendix I protections.
Appendix III species, while not facing specific global threats, are listed by individual countries wishing to enlist assistance in protecting species located within the borders of their countries[3].
The rise of the Internet has revolutionized the way we exchange ideas, information and merchandise. This success is largely due to its ability to facilitate communications and new commercial and social connections around the globe. No wonder this pervasive and powerful technology has become the world’s largest “shop window.” Some of the characteristics of this virtual store – always open, unregulated and anonymous – have also made it a conduit for the illicit trade in wildlife, a trade that officials estimate may be worth in excess of US$20 billion annually.
The rapid rise in global Internet usership, the diverse interests and activities of Internet users and the introduction of new technologies and applications are just three of the developments that challenge the ability of national and international law enforcement to keep up with the innovations of Internet-savvy criminals.
Currently, national laws aimed at regulating wildlife trade to ecologically sustainable levels are poorly developed and insufficient to deal with the nature of Internet trade. Even where laws exist, enforcement is often inadequate or simply not focused on trafficking in wildlife. Meanwhile, the Internet provides an unprecedented platform for a burgeoning, undocumented trade in endangered animals, alive and dead. This new global marketplace distances the consumer from the trail of bloodshed that winds through the World Wide Web back to our most cherished wild places.
Since 2004, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has investigated the Internet wildlife trade. These studies have revealed high numbers of wildlife products exchanged on a daily basis. In 2004, IFAW uncovered a brisk ivory trade on the internet in the United Kingdom. In a 2007 follow-up report, IFAW focused specifically on the ivory trade on eBay, and found 2.275 ivory items for sale on eight national eBay websites in a single week. As a result of this study and ongoing consultations with IFAW, eBay Inc. announced a global ban on cross-border trade in ivory products in June 2007 for all eBay national sites.
In 2008, IFAW undertook the largest investigation into the wildlife trade on the Internet the organization has ever attempted. The results of the investigation were published in a report entitled Killing with Keystrokes: An Investigation of the Illegal Wildlife Trade on the World Wide Web (KWK), and available at www.ifaw.org. The purposes of this investigation were to understand the volume and geographic scope of the global Internet wildlife trade, to identify key Internet wildlife trade markets, to determine the species most affected by the trade, and to identify significant issues and trends related to the online trade in the CITES-listed species.[4]
This report is aimed at furthering the 2008 investigation by providing an update from Portugal on this matter. Little is known about the dimension and seriousness of the wildlife trade on the Portuguese World Wide Web. This report is the first attempt to find out how large is the E-Commerce on in endangered species of fauna and flora is in Portugal.
In spite of the patchwork of laws and policies designed to address the problem of unregulated wildlife trade on the Internet, the vastness and adaptability of the World Wide Web (WWW), the anonymity afforded to traders, a lack of public awareness about regulations, and inadequate enforcement of existing national laws all continue to threaten wildlife around the globe. This investigation is aimed at providing information to the Portuguese Government, enforcement officials and Internet platforms in order to give them greater understanding of the situation, suggest methods in which to counter illegal wildlife trade, and aid further enforcement.
Official IFAW report release here
Read/Download report here
About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
As one of the world’s leading animal welfare organization, IFAW has representation in 16 countries and carries out its animal welfare work in more than 40. IFAW works from its global headquarters in the United States and focuses its campaigns on improving the welfare of wild and domestic animals by reducing the commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. IFAW works both on the ground and in the halls of government to safeguard wild and domestic animals and seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org.
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[1] CITES Secretariat. (2008). The CITES Species, from http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/species.shtml
[2] CITES Secretariat. (2008). How CITES Works. from http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.shtml
[3] CITES Secretariat. (2008). The CITES Appendices, from http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.shtml
[4] IFAW, 2008. Killing with Keystrokes: An Investigation of the Illegal Wildlife Trade on the World Wide Web. 38pp