Reports: Wildlife Trade on the Web
The Internet’s very anonymity makes it impossible to quantify the scale of the illegal online trade in protected and endangered species. However, the recent IFAW investigations listed below reveal how vast quantities of wildlife products and live animals are being traded illegally on the Internet - a growing and lucrative trade that is driving the world's most endangered species to the brink of extinction and causing untold suffering.
Dutch Animal Trade Survey 2006 Caught in Web
eBay 2007 Wildlife Trade Survey Bidding for Extinction
While many species suffer from the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade on the Internet, elephants suffer the most. The ivory trade, including ivory on the Internet, threatens elephants across Asia and Africa. It is estimated that over 20,000 elephants are slaughtered annually to fuel this devastating commerce.
Lion numbers have plummeted from an estimated 200,000 to just 23,000 in the past twenty years. Yet these animals are still killed for trophies and furs. Photo: IFAW
