Date published: 2005/08/16
The BBC says:
The illegal trade in wild animal products over the internet is driving the world's most endangered species to extinction, wildlife campaigners claim.
An International Fund for Animal Welfare (Ifaw) probe found 9,000 live animals or products for sale in one week on trading sites like eBay.
Ifaw claims many traders are taking advantage of the internet's anonymity.
The UK Government says it takes wildlife crime seriously, but Ifaw urged it to act urgently.
During a three month investigation, Ifaw found some of the world's most endangered species for sale online - almost all being traded illegally.
...
Of the 9,000 animals and animal parts found for sale by the probe in its first week alone, 70% were from species protected by international law.
...
A spokesman for eBay said its animals policy goes beyond the law in prohibiting the sale of native and endangered species and it was working closely with the Ifaw to ensure the site remained free from illegal items."If we are made aware of any listing that breaks this policy, we will end the listing and may, where appropriate, forward it to the relevant law enforcement agency for action.
"We strongly encourage users to report illegal items to customer support.
This just reads like yet another press release from yet another special interest group trying to get some free publicity. Are we supposed to be shocked that illegal goods are being sold on the internet? You can perfectly well sell illegal goods "anonymously" without the internet and it is almost impossible to be really anonymous when using the internet (just ask all those virus writers who get caught within a week or two).
The mention of Ebay at the top of the story is particularly egregious if the spokesman for Ebay at the bottom of the story is not completely lying, and perhaps the BBC should actually do some work on this story and check Ebay out.
The mention of the figure of 9000 at the top is spin. Midway in the story we find that 30% (2700) of the animals had no protection under international law (presumably cats and dogs come under this category). And are the remaining 70% (6300) totally illegal? Did Ifaw notify the relevant governmental authorities with specific cases and documentation? Did Ifaw approach the relevant websites and ask for the sales to be removed?
Of course there is unfortunately probably a serious story underlying this silly reporting. We should also question whether governments of the world should be devoting as much resource to this problem as Ifaw wants, rather than devoting more resource to mundane law enforcement jobs like trying to make sure people don't get mugged in the street (or the zillion and one other things governments can spend money on).
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