Species at Risk From the Wildlife Trade

Tigers and Wild Cats
    
IFAW found tiger bags, tiger bone medicine and even a live “pet” tiger for sale online.  There are cheetah coats and leopard skins available as well.  Tigers could be lost forever from the wild within a decade. Increased poaching and habitat loss are having a devastating effect.  There are currently 10,000 tigers in private ownership in the USA and only 5,000 left in the wild.

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Elephants
    
IFAW has found thousands of elephant products for sale on the Internet over the course of one week.  Many elephant populations are at high risk of extinction from habitat loss and widespread poaching for ivory and meat.  In Asia there could be as few as 35,000 elephants left, with only 250 elephants estimated in the whole of China.

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Rhinoceros
    
IFAW has found rhinoceros horns in the form of trophies, carved dagger handles and ground-down powder for use in Asian medicines.  Rhinos are facing a crisis – all five remaining species are threatened with extinction and all commercial trade is therefore prohibited.

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Sea Turtles
    
IFAW has found several hawksbill turtle shells and jewelry items for sale online. These endangered turtles are killed for their beautiful shells, which are turned into ornaments and jewelry in South East Asia and Japan.  This slow growing species is critically endangered worldwide.  Commercial trade in their parts could wipe the entire species out.  Any commercial trade in sea turtles or their parts is illegal.

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Exotic Birds
 
During the investigation for IFAW's report Killing with Keystrokes, an emerging market in exotic birds was discovered.  Endangered live birds and their eggs are being traded without any documentation and even worse, without anyone watching.  The most commonly found Appendix 1 bird species include double yellow-headed and yellow-naped Amazon parrots, Goffin's cockatoos, military macaws, Moluccan cockatoos and scarlet macaws, with the occasional less-commonly found palm cockatoo and hyacinth macaw.

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Great Apes and other primates
    
IFAW found 146 live primates for sale on the Internet as well as several websites offering unspecified numbers of primates for sale.  A live gorilla was offered by a seller claiming to be in London and four baby chimpanzees were offered on a US website.  This trade has serious conservation and welfare implications.  All wild primates are threatened and their trade is either prohibited or strictly regulated.

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Bears
    
IFAW has found many different types of traditional medicines containing bear bile for sale on the Internet.  Black bears are cruelly farmed in China for their gall bladder bile, which is extracted using crude catheters, causing immense pain and suffering to the caged animals.  The bile is used in traditional medicine and increasingly in products such as throat lozenges and shampoo.

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Tibetan Antelope
    
This animal’s fine wool is used to make shahtoosh shawls, which are popular in India but have also been found for sale in Europe and the USA.  Only 75,000 Tibetan antelope are estimated to remain in the wild.  They cannot be farmed and up to five Tibetan antelope are killed to make one luxury shawl. IFAW found a woman advertising shahtoosh on an Indian website who offered to ship a shawl into the UK – an offence in both countries.  The species is highly endangered and it is illegal under any circumstances to buy or sell anything made from the wool of Tibetan antelope.

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Reptiles
    
Be cautious of items containing reptile skins or live reptiles.  Many of the world's reptiles are protected or endangered including crocodiles and caimans.  IFAW has found many items such as handbags, belts, shoes, and hides from endangered reptiles.

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