Wildlife trade has been a controversial issue. Countries around the world have different laws governing what animals can and cannot be traded. With the spread of SARS-CoV2, China’s wet markets drew global attention and criticism.
Experts agree that trading wildlife can lead to unsustainable hunting practices, threaten endangered species, and could help the spread of novel infectious diseases.
As many countries have started to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade, poachers and sellers have increasingly turned to social media for trading. So far, social media giants have taken very little action to tackle the growing trade.
Now researchers at the University of Exeter have revealed that social media giants can tackle the issue with a few key steps. In a paper published in the journal Conservation Biology, the researchers have cleverly designed legislations, and investment from tech firms can help develop new solutions that can tackle the issue.
"The illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade poses a major threat to global biodiversity, and trade in some species can spread infectious diseases," Alisa Davies, lead author of the paper, and a wildlife trade specialist for WPT, said in a press release. “Like other areas of commerce, both legitimate and harmful, the internet has supercharged the sale of wildlife for purposes ranging from luxury artefacts to exotic pets. Social media platforms have enabled traders to connect as never before, bypassing middlemen and exchanging information on how to evade law enforcement.”
Researchers say that finding endangered wildlife for sale on social media was relatively easy, despite the guidelines established by social media giants.
“Although some big platforms have introduced strong community standards prohibiting trade of 'endangered' wildlife and restricting sales of live animals to legitimate businesses, it takes only seconds to find, for example, endangered parrots for sale," Davies added.
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