The Cyber Black Market is much more nefarious then one might expect. Endangered animals, animal remains, human sex trafficking and weapons are all traded online. A 2005 BBC report claimed that items such as live baby chimpanzees, tortoise shells and rhino horns were exchanging hands online. Even popular trading sites such as Craigslist have been avenues for human sex trafficking. Read Malika Saada Saar’s, the executive director of the Rebecca Project for Human Rights’ article ‘Craig, Please Listen to Us’ about the impact on Cyber Black Market victims.
LONDON, UK, August 16, 2005 (ENS) - Cyberspace is being used as a platform to buy and sell endangered species - both alive and dead - investigators from the International Fund for Animal Welfare found during a three month in-depth look at English language websites. The conservation group warns that the illegal Internet trade in endangered animals is lucrative and easy to conduct without detection.
"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," writes IFAW's Jenny Hawley, author of the new report, "Caught in the web: wildlife trade on the Internet."
IFAW investigators found a seven year old gorilla being offered for sale in London on a classified ad website that has a page dedicated to "exotic animal adoption/placement in the UK." The website of the National Alternative Pet Association www.altpet.net, based in the United States, advocates the rights of people to keep exotic pets, with the slogan "animal use is not animal abuse."
The asking price for the gorilla started at �4,500 and the seller claimed a health certificate is available. No mention was made of the fact that commercial trade in gorillas, like all great apes, is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and UK law too would prevent the gorilla being sold.
IFAW passed information on the gorilla advertised for sale in London to the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit for investigation.
Live animals sold as "pets" included a Siberian tiger on a U.S. website, IFAW said. While only about 5,000 tigers remain in the wild, there are an estimated 10,000 tigers kept as pets in basements and backyards across the United States, said IFAW's Chris Cutter. Keeping tigers in the United States is legal, and it is legal to sell them, although not across state lines. But "just because it's legal doesn't mean it's right," Cutter said. "It does nothing to help tigers in the wild."
The report shows that the "growing and largely unchecked Internet trade could spell disaster for endangered species," IFAW warns.
Elephant feet currently offered for sale on eBay in violation of the auction site's policy of not permitting parts of endangered species to be auctioned on the site. (Photo courtesy eBay)
Animal body parts for sale found by IFAW include hawksbill turtle shells, shahtoosh shawls from the Tibetan antelope, and taxidermy specimens of lions and polar bears. Ivory items and traditional Asian medicines containing the parts of endangered tigers and rhinos were commonly found for sale. In less than an hour, ENS found for sale on the eBay aution site endangered animal parts that include elephant feet and tusks, a male African lion skin and whole dried seahorses as well as elephant ivory jewelry and carvings.Phyllis Campbell-McRae, director of IFAW UK said, �Trade on the Internet is easy, cheap and anonymous. However, it is clear that unscrupulous traders and sophisticated criminal gangs are taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the World Wide Web."
"The result is a cyber black market where the future of the world�s rarest animals is being traded away. This situation must be tackled immediately by governments and website owners before it is too late," said Campbell-McRae.
Trade in endangered species is regulated globally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but while CITES personnel monitor and enforce person-to-person transactions involving endangered species, cyber sales have been beyond their capacity to control.
In a self-congratulatory statement released on CITES' 30the anniversary, July 1, 2005, the organization said, "Thanks to the effective implementation of CITES by those who harvest, produce, trade, transport, buy and regulate the wildlife species covered by the Convention, new emergency listings of species have become increasingly rare. Moreover, no CITES-listed species has ever become extinct as a result of trade."
But CITES has not yet grappled with the cyber black market in endangered species.
In light of its findings in this investigation, IFAW asks that governments worldwide support a Resolution to the 14th Conference of the Parties to CITES proposing an international action plan to tackle the issue of the cyber black market in endangered species. The 14th CITES conference is scheduled for early 2007.
The full skin of a male adult lion complete with mane and claws, currently for sale on eBay. The African lion is listed as Vulnerable (East and Southern subspecies) and Endangered (West African) by the IUCN and is on CITES Appendix II, which regulates trade by permit. (Photo courtesy eBay)
IFAW found some of the world�s most endangered species advertised online, from websites based in the UK, USA, India, Israel and Germany, and almost all of them were being traded illegally, the organization said. The IFAW search was restricted to five categories of animals - live primates, ivory items, turtle and tortoise products, bags and fashion items made from endangered reptiles, and wild cats - which leads the investigators to conclude that their findings represent "the tip of the iceberg."�Each one of us also has a responsibility to stop buying and selling wild animals and wildlife products. Trade in wildlife is driven by consumer demand, so when the buying stops, the killing will too. Our message to online shoppers is simple: buying wildlife online is as bad as killing it yourself,� said Campbell-McRae.
Investigators found a lack of adequate and straightforward information about wildlife trade and the law. IFAW has launched its own website to provide the public with clear guidelines at: www.caughtintheweb.co.uk for more information.
IFAW is calling for greater international co-operation between governments, including ensuring sufficient enforcement capacity, working closely with Interpol, and greater monitoring of the illegal online trade.
IFAW is also calling on website owners to take greater responsibility for illegal items posted on their sites, such as more information, effective reporting mechanisms and close co-operation with enforcement agencies.
IFAW recommends that the UK government and enforcement agencies, especially the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the National Wildlife Crime Intelligence Unit promote the concept of wildlife crime as a �serious crime.�
The UK has a new, stricter version of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) Act that gives police stronger powers in fighting wildlife crime, including powers of arrest, entry, search and seizure.
Under the amended COTES Act, which entered into force July 21, people convicted of trading in endangered species, their parts and their derivatives will face up to five years in prison, a stiffer penalty than under the previous version of the law.
In view of information revealed in its new report, IFAW recommends that the British government improve the legal framework relating to Internet wildlife trading, including a legally-binding code of practice for Internet auction sites and other sites where wildlife is sold.
The UK government should also establish and promote a hotline for easy reporting of any suspicious trade by Internet users, IFAW says.
On the EU level, an action plan is needed to reduce illegal wildlife trade on the Internet within the EU, including introduction of an EU wide ban on the advertising of Annex A and B specimens to the general public, the conservation group recommends.
In the United States, IFAW says, a similar action plan is needed to reduce illegal wildlife trade on sites based in that country.
These seahorses are currently for sale on eBay. All seahorse species are listed in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Most seahorses are listed as Vulnerable, with one species listed as Endangered. (Photo courtesy eBay)
IFAW recommends that the owners of sites on which wildlife may be traded provide easy access for site users to user-friendly information on the legal requirements for Internet wildlife trading and actively promote awareness of this issue among their users. "Although some of the products we documented could be traded legally, we wanted to assess wildlife trade on the Internet generally, not just illegal trade," Hawley writes. "It can be almost impossible for the seller, buyer or the law enforcement official to know whether traders are acting legally or not. Even legal trade can have a negative impact on endangered species and animal welfare."Website owners should establish an effective reporting mechanism to allow users to report any suspicious items easily and receive prompt feedback on action taken, and also establish close cooperation with enforcement agencies to facilitate reporting of suspicious items for investigation, IFAW recommends.
Cutter says IFAW is in dialogue with eBay management, who he describes as "very helpful" and "so far willing to discuss these things."
eBay does not permit trade in live animals, and the popular auction site's policy statement says, "Animal pelts and skins: Animal parts, including pelts and skins from endangered species (such as leopards, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, sable antelopes, mountain zebras, and Hartmann mountain zebras may not be sold in interstate commerce and therefore are not permitted on eBay."
Cutter says that "to be fair to them even if eBay does increase monitoring and take action more quickly, it won't shut down the trade either. eBay is only one site, there's a whole host of sites."
IFAW's report is consistent with the findings of many other conservation groups and enforcement agencies including the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, TRAFFIC Europe and WildAid.
In the UK in 2004, the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee noted the "significant switch to the internet as the preferred method for trading in protected and endangered species."
Cutter said IFAW published its report although other research has previously exposed the problem because, "Trade is still going on. A lot of people still don't realize this is happening. To get website owners to take the steps we are asking them to take we need to show there's in interest in the problem."
