Illegal Wildlife Trade Found On The Internet

Illegal wildlife traders are using the Internet to pull in more customers, avoid laws and evade authorities, according to animal rights activists at the Asia for Animals 2010 conference on Sunday.

Referring to a study on the illegal online wildlife trade in 2008, Ge said there continued to be a “huge volume of wildlife and their products traded online on a daily basis.” The research was conducted over a three-month period in 11 countries including the U.S., China and Australia. The study found more than 7,000 online ads selling illegal wildlife products.

70.5 percent of the ad base came from the United States, while Britain and China were only at about 8 percent each, according to the study. Estimated values of the final sales on these websites accounted for more than 457,000 dollars, but the actual figure was likely much higher as most sites did not advertise prices.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1810361/illegal_wildlife_trade_found_on_the_internet/