Researchers from Kent have found that criminals are turning to social media to sell illegal wildlife worth up to tens of thousands of pounds.
The new study, conducted by the University of Kent’s Dr Amy Hinsley and Dr David Roberts and published by Conservation Biology, is the first large-scale global study into wildlife trading on social media, and used the orchid trade as a case study.
Orchids make up 70 per cent of species listed by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and some can sell on the black market for tens of thousands of pounds.
Dr Hinsley and Dr Roberts found that illegal traders are keen to find new ways to advertise and sell their plants on the black market, with social media emerging as the new way to do so.
The researchers found that high value of the plants motivated some traders to bypass the rules aimed at preventing species from becoming extinct.
They found wild orchids were being traded from all over the world, and found rare and threatened species were being sold, including one species assessed as Critically Endangered.
Following the publication of the findings, the researchers are calling for better monitoring of social media for trade in wild collected plants and other traded wildlife.
A previous study by Dr Hinsley and Dr Roberts showed that orchid hobbyists who buy on the internet have a preference for rare species, and the academics have warned that the sale of wild orchids on social media, if left unchecked, is likely to contribute to pressure on vulnerable wild populations.
Dr Hinsley and Dr Roberts are now calling on law enforcers and conservationists to discover, monitor and respond to new developments in illegal wildlife trade quickly.
Dr Hinsley said: “The increasing use of the internet by wildlife traders, especially those involved in illegal trade, is a significant challenge to conservation.
"Evidence suggests increased regulation of wildlife trade on more traditional commerce websites, like eBay’s ban on ivory sales in 2009, may be driving wildlife traders to sell via social media.”
