October 25, 2008 by Matt Thomas
These days the internet really is a place where it’s possible to buy anything. A report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare has revealed that a wide variety of exotic and rare animals, including leopard cubs, marmosets and chimps, are being sold via websites.
This isn’t just an isolated problem either, it’s worryingly widespread. The IFAW conducted six weeklong observations of websites earlier in the year, during which it witnessed 1,400 exotic animals being bought online. The vast majority of the animals up for sale were birds though rhinos, large cats and primates were also available. The animals were all live.
The IFAW have concluded that the global nature of the internet has made this kind of animal trafficking easier than ever before. Globally, the worst offenders are the US, with 1034 advertisements, though the Russians are also in on the act with the greatest variety of animals for sale, including an Ocelot, two kinds of tiger, a bonobo and, chillingly, a crocodile.
The trading of these kinds of animals in this way is, of course, highly illegal. The trouble is that a lot of the online adverts lead to transactions taking place offline – these are of course largely untraceable.
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