Endangered Species Face A New Most Dangerous Threat: The Internet!

The cyberspace is famous for bringing people together . But some of those people include poachers and rarefied animal collector , fueling a resurgence in the illegal wildlife trade .

The cyberspace ’s effect on the trade of endangered wildlife was one of the big issues talk about at the late encounter of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species , or CITES , which gathered representatives from 175 rural area to talk about conservation issues . A event in point was Kaiser ’s Spotted Newt , which CITES delegate voted to banish the craft of after the World Wildlife Fund declared internet sellers had “ devastated ” the species ’s population .

Seekers of rare animals and plants now have a slightly less shady way to buy wares once curb to the darkest corners of the black market . Online , you may buy everything from child lions to wine-colored made from tiger bones . ( And here I am drink wine made from grapes like a commoner ! )

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cite master constabulary enforcement officer John Sellar is disbelieving the internet has really made it safer for illegal wildlife bargainer to betray , considering how well purchases can be traced . EBay was once one of the main marketplaces for illegal ivory trading , but a consummate ban of the practice in 2008 has precipitously decreased such natural action on the internet as a whole .

Perhaps the open consequence the net has had on wildlife trading is constitute it easier for existing vender and emptor to line up each other . Ernie Cooper , who has investigated the phenomenon on behalf of TRAFFIC Canada , points to Kaiser ’s Spotted Newt , which has a entire population of about 1000 and has about 200 per twelvemonth smuggle from its home ground in Iran to be sell as pets , as a perfect example of this phenomenon . He explains :

The cyberspace itself is n’t the terror , but it ’s another way to market the ware . Most the great unwashed are not unforced to pay $ 300 for a fire hook . But through the power of the Internet , tapping into the global market , you may discover buyers .

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