tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/wildlife-trade-28040/articlesWildlife trade – The Conversation2024-03-21T14:35:28Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238782024-03-21T14:35:28Z2024-03-21T14:35:28ZPangolins in Africa: expert unpacks why millions have been traded illegally and what can be done about it<p>Pangolins are fascinating creatures known for their unique appearance and distinctive scales. They are mammals belonging to the order Pholidota and are <a href="https://www.savepangolins.org/what-is-a-pangolin">native to Africa and Asia</a>. Due to their primary diet of ants and termites, pangolins are often referred to as “scaly anteaters”.</p>
<p>The African pangolin species are dispersed throughout southern, western, central and east Africa. </p>
<p>Pangolins face rapid declines across Asia and Africa, with all eight species classified as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/pangolins#:%7E:text=There%20are%20eight%20species%20of,bellied%E2%80%94are%20listed%20as%20vulnerable.">vulnerable, endangered</a>, or critically endangered. They are <a href="https://www.savepangolins.org/threats">threatened</a> by poaching and habitat loss, driven by the demand for their meat and scales.</p>
<p>Pangolins are the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-02-17-operation-pangolin-launches-save-world-s-most-trafficked-wild-mammal">most trafficked wild mammal in the world</a>. <a href="https://davidshepherd.org/species/pangolins/trade-statement/">Their meat is considered a delicacy</a> in Asia while their scales are also used in traditional medicines, fetching huge sums on the black market. As many as <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2023-02-17-operation-pangolin-launches-save-world-s-most-trafficked-wild-mammal">8.5 million pangolins</a> are estimated to have been removed from the wild in west and central Africa for the illegal trade between 2014 and 2021. </p>
<p>The trade route analysis of pangolin trafficking <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910720300876">points to</a> Lagos as the main connection point both domestically and worldwide, including south-east Asian countries. Malaysia, Laos and Singapore also serve as key transit countries for pangolin-scale shipments from Nigeria.</p>
<p>China and Vietnam are the main <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910720300876">destinations for these illegal shipments</a>.</p>
<p>I am a zoologist who’s passionate about the environment and biodiversity conservation. I am also the founder and chair of Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria. In my view, effective protection, law enforcement and changes in consumer behaviour are necessary to address the complex drivers of poaching and trafficking.</p>
<h2>What makes pangolins special</h2>
<p>Pangolins are interesting for a number of reasons. </p>
<p><strong>Scales:</strong> Unlike any other mammals, they are covered with keratin scales. This adaptation is a defence against predators. The scales, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/pangolins">made of the same material as human fingernails</a>, provide armour-like protection as they curl into a ball when threatened, shielding their vulnerable underbelly. The scales can account for up to <a href="https://www.awf.org/blog/5-things-you-didn%E2%80%99t-know-about-pangolin">20% of a pangolin’s total body weight</a>. A pangolin’s scales are a reminder of the incredible diversity of adaptations in the natural world. </p>
<p><strong>Habitats:</strong> Pangolins, as a group, are also adaptable to different environmental conditions. Their habitats include tropical forests, dry woodlands and savannahs. Some pangolin species, like the white-bellied, are adept climbers and spend much of their time in the canopy, foraging for insects among the branches. These arboreal habits provide them with both food and shelter, as well as protection from ground-dwelling predators. Other pangolin species, such as the ground pangolins, live on the forest floor or in grasslands. They may dig burrows underground where they retreat for rest and safety, particularly during the heat of the day or to escape potential threats.</p>
<p><strong>Defence:</strong> The name “pangolin” <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/pangolins">originates</a> from the Malay word <em>pengguling</em>, which translates to “rolling up”. They tuck in their head and limbs and curl into a tight ball when faced with danger, wrapping their body in a protective layer of overlapping scales. This has helped pangolins survive predators such as big cats, hyenas and humans. </p>
<p><strong>Diet:</strong> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9686612/#:%7E:text=The%20food%20of%20pangolins%20in,feeding%20%5B15%2C16%5D.">Pangolins primarily feed on ants and termites</a>, making them essential players in controlling insect populations within their ecosystems. They find the insects using their keen sense of smell and their tongues – which are often longer than their bodies. These long tongues are coated with sticky saliva, allowing them to probe deep into ant and termite nests to extract their prey. Their strong claws are also well-suited for tearing open insect nests and breaking through hard soil to uncover hidden prey. Pangolins’ diets play a crucial role in maintaining the health and stability of their environments.</p>
<h2>Pangolins in Africa</h2>
<p>In west and central Africa, the giant pangolin is distributed in a variety of habitats, including primary and secondary forests, swamp forests and wooded savannahs. Temminck’s pangolin (<em>Smutsia temminckii</em>) is the <a href="https://africanpangolin.org/discover/temmincks-ground-pangolin/#:%7E:text=Smutsia%20temminckii,to%20date%20weighing%2019%20kg">most widely distributed African pangolin</a>, occurring mainly in southern and east Africa. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128155073000083">black-bellied pangolin</a> (<em>Phataginus tetradactyla</em>) is an arboreal pangolin species, and occurs in west and central Africa. The <a href="https://pangolinsg.org/portfolio/white-bellied-pangolin/#:%7E:text=Distribution,%3B%20Togo%3B%20Uganda%3B%20Zambia">white-bellied pangolin</a> (<em>Phataginus tricuspis</em>) is the most frequently encountered pangolin in Africa. The white-bellied pangolin is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S277281372200018X?via%3Dihub">found in north-central and south-western Nigeria</a>.</p>
<p>In Nigeria, pangolins are found in various habitats, including <a href="https://www.savepangolins.org/what-is-a-pangolin">forests, savannahs and grasslands</a>. Their distribution and abundance in Nigeria are uncertain, highlighting the need for further research and conservation efforts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/400-000-african-pangolins-are-hunted-for-meat-every-year-why-its-time-to-act-111540">400,000 African pangolins are hunted for meat every year -- why it's time to act</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, serves as a hub for the illegal trade of pangolins. It is a transit route to Cameroon and is involved in shipments of pangolins from sub-Saharan Africa to Asia. Cameroon is at <a href="https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/04/peace-poaching-and-pangolins-central-africa">the centre of wildlife trafficking in central Africa</a>. It is both a source country of animal products as well as a transit route for contraband from neighbouring Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.</p>
<p>In 2022, Nigerian customs officials <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67134651">seized</a> 1,613 tonnes of pangolin scales and arrested 14 people. In October 2023, Nigeria <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigeria-destroys-seized-pangolin-parts-deter-wildlife-trafficking-2023-10-17/">burned</a> four tonnes of seized pangolin scales, valued at US$1.4 million. Officials said this was the first time they had publicly destroyed seized wildlife products to discourage illegal trafficking. </p>
<h2>Why pangolin conservation is important</h2>
<p>Pangolin conservation is crucial for several reasons. </p>
<p>Firstly, pangolins play a vital role in ecosystems by controlling insect populations, particularly ants and termites, which helps maintain ecological balance. </p>
<p>They also contribute to soil health through their digging behaviour, which aerates the soil and promotes nutrient cycling.</p>
<p>Moreover, pangolins are indicators of ecosystem health. Their presence or absence can reflect the overall well-being of their habitats. Protecting pangolins helps safeguard biodiversity and the integrity of their ecosystems.</p>
<p>They also have cultural and economic value in many regions, contributing to ecotourism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olajumoke Morenikeji is affiliated with the Pangolin Conservation Guild Nigeria, which she founded. The organisation educates and creates awareness on pangolin conservation, conducts scientific research, collaborates with relevant organisations, advises policymakers, and facilitates pangolin rescue, rehabilitation and release into protected forest areas. I also chair the West Africa region International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Pangolin Specialist Group.</span></em></p>Pangolins are among the most trafficked and poached mammals in the world.Olajumoke Morenikeji, Professor Department of Zoology, University of IbadanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2085842023-06-29T14:35:11Z2023-06-29T14:35:11ZLions are still being farmed in South Africa for hunters and tourism – they shouldn’t be<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534742/original/file-20230629-21-1i6qhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lions at a commercial facility in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy Bloodlions</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>A man <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/fur-crying-out-loud-man-en-route-to-vietnam-with-lion-bones-in-luggage-arrested-at-or-tambo-airport-20230624">was arrested</a> at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 23 June 2023 with five lion carcasses in his luggage. He was about to board a flight to Vietnam, where the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138120301205">use of lion bones</a> in traditional medicines is practised.</em></p>
<p><em>The seizure is commendable but highlights South Africa’s controversial legal industry of breeding lions in captivity. Wildlife researchers Neil D'Cruze and Jennah Green, who <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85292/">have studied</a> <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/animal-welfare/article/welfare-concerns-associated-with-captive-lions-panthera-leo-and-the-implications-for-commercial-lion-farms-in-south-africa/BDD074F3A15EB226827F1BCE78AEE8ED">lion farming</a> in South Africa, share their insights into the industry and explain why it should be shut down.</em></p>
<h2>Why are lions being farmed?</h2>
<p>Lions have been intensively farmed for commercial purposes in South Africa since <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85108/">the 1990s</a>. </p>
<p>These wild animals are exploited as entertainment attractions for tourists, like cub petting and “<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSSP-09-2019-0187/full/html?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=International_Journal_of_Sociology_and_Social_Policy_TrendMD_1&WT.mc_id=Emerald_TrendMD_1&origin=3cae929be2db3212856de1b1d31d40b3">walk with lions</a>” experiences. Others are used for <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/moving-targets-the-canned-hunting-of-captivebred-lions-in-south-africa/929CD0F7D4825D9DB6CD52DEEE1B9B27">“canned” trophy hunting</a>, where the lion is hunted in an enclosed space, with no chance of escape. </p>
<p>They are also used for traditional medicine both in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.906398/full">South Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138120301205?via%3Dihub">internationally</a>, where their body parts, particularly their bones, are exported to Asia. They’re used as ingredients in traditional Asian medicine, such as <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/who-buys-lion-bones-inside-south-africas-skeleton-trade">“wines” and tonics</a>. These would usually contain tiger bone, but lion bones are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2015.18004">being used as a substitute</a>. </p>
<p>They’re also <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217409">sold live</a>.</p>
<h2>What does the lion farming industry look like?</h2>
<p>According <a href="https://www.conservationaction.co.za/answer-to-south-african-parlimentary-question-noting-there-are-approximately-7979-lions-in-captivity-in-366-facilities/">to official records</a> in 2019, around 8,000 lions are being held in over 350 facilities in South Africa. In contrast, the current wild population in the country is estimated to be about <a href="https://research.tees.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/58421649/s10592_023_01530_5.pdf"> 3,500 lions</a>. </p>
<p>Some farms also breed <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85108/">other big cats</a>, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/tigers-in-south-africa-a-farming-industry-exists-often-for-their-body-parts-198238">tigers</a>, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars and hybrids. </p>
<p>The exact number of lions and other species on commercial “lion farms” across South Africa, however, is unknown. The industry has <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85108/">never been fully audited</a> and not all farms are officially registered. In addition, corruption and a lack of proper <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85292/">record-keeping</a> make it difficult for authorities to manage the industry and ensure facilities comply with the law.</p>
<h2>How is the industry regulated?</h2>
<p>A major problem is how the lion farming industry is being regulated in South Africa. </p>
<p>At a national level, governance of this industry has fallen under a patchwork of legislation including the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-environmental-management-biodiversity-act-0">National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act</a> and regulations around <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-environmental-management-biodiversity-act-lists-threatened-and-protected-species">threatened or protected species</a>. With national and provincial concurrence, the regulation of the industry falls to the provincial nature conservation authorities. </p>
<p>But, as there is no centralised national system, transparency and enforcement is difficult. This results in grey areas that cloud the legality of the industry and its associated activities, contributing to <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85108/">confusion and noncompliance throughout</a>.</p>
<p>Likewise, at an international level, <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249306">lion bone exports are regulated</a> under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). But the industry has been under scrutiny since 2019, when a <a href="http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2019/337.html">high court in South Africa declared</a> the lion bone export quota unconstitutional – due in large part to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/animal-welfare/article/welfare-concerns-associated-with-captive-lions-panthera-leo-and-the-implications-for-commercial-lion-farms-in-south-africa/BDD074F3A15EB226827F1BCE78AEE8ED">animal welfare concerns</a>. </p>
<p>Consequently, since that time, the CITES export quota <a href="https://speciesplus.net/species#/taxon_concepts/6353/legal">has been deferred</a>, resulting in a “zero quota”. This means that lion skeletons cannot be legally exported for commercial purposes. And any subsequent exports originating from lion farms are illegal.</p>
<h2>Why is this industry a problem?</h2>
<p>Lion farming in South Africa is controversial. </p>
<p>The industry has been <a href="https://academicjournals.org/journal/IJBC/article-abstract/6AC3AF766598">estimated by some</a> to contribute up to R500 million (US$42 million) annually to the South African economy. However, in 2021 a <a href="https://www.dffe.gov.za/sites/default/files/reports/2020-12-22_high-levelpanel_report.pdf">high level report</a> compiled by relevant experts (including traditional leaders, lion farmers and scientists) highlighted that the industry posed a risk to public health (because of the potential transmission of <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1692">zoonotic disease</a> and <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/african-journal-of-wildlife-research/volume-53/issue-1/056.053.0021/Biting-the-Hand-that-Feeds-You--Attacks-by-Captive/10.3957/056.053.0021.short">lion attacks</a>), “does not contribute meaningfully to the conservation of wild lions”, and was tarnishing the country’s reputation with “political and economic risks”. </p>
<p>This led to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202106/44776gon566.pdf">announcing its intention</a>, which cabinet later adopted, to immediately halt the “domestication and exploitation of lions, and to ultimately close all captive lion facilities in South Africa”.</p>
<p>But nothing has changed. The captive breeding and canned hunting of lions has continued.</p>
<h2>What should be done about the industry?</h2>
<p>The minister’s public announcement of South Africa’s intention to stop lion farming was a defining development regarding this controversial industry and its future. However, in late 2022, a <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/forestry-fisheries-and-environment-ministerial-task-team-identify-and-recommend-voluntary">ministerial task team</a> was asked to “develop and implement a voluntary exit strategy for captive lion facilities”. This was the first time the word “voluntary” had been used in public government communications on this issue. It raised serious questions about whether the government was wavering in its stated intention to end commercial captive lion breeding.</p>
<p>It is highly doubtful whether a voluntary phasing out alone can halt the commercial exploitation of lions and establish a process to close lion farms as recommended in the high level panel report. Instead, it should only be considered as an initial step. <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/6/1717">There should be a strategy</a> which includes a mandatory time bound termination of the lion farming industry in its entirety. </p>
<p>Until then, to aid enforcement agencies and their efforts, lion farms should be required to stop breeding more lions and stop their canned hunting operations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208584/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil D’Cruze works for an international NGO, World Animal Protection as the Global Head of Wildlife Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennah Green is affiliated with an international NGO, World Animal Protection as a Wildlife Research Manager. </span></em></p>About 8,000 lions are being held in facilities across South Africa. In some cases, a legal operation is plugged into an illicit trade network.Neil D’Cruze, Global Head of Wildlife Research, World Animal Protection, and Visiting Researcher, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), University of OxfordJennah Green, Wildlife Research Manager at World Animal Protection, and Visiting Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2079322023-06-23T01:00:54Z2023-06-23T01:00:54ZBuying bugs and beetles, or shopping for scorpions and snails? Australia’s pet trade includes hundreds of spineless species<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532811/original/file-20230620-1844-onb2mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C39%2C1768%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sebastian Chekunov</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Shacking up with tarantulas, scorpions, and ants would be a nightmare for most people. But for others, these creepy-crawlies are welcome companions and collectables.</p>
<p>Global demand for exotic pets is <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2059">rising</a>, fuelled by social media and a shift from traditional brick-and-mortar pet stores to online marketplaces. The pet trade now extends beyond well known species such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320723001416?via%3Dihub">parrots, reptiles and fish</a> to a wide variety of invertebrates (animals without backbones) – from both land and water.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aen.12662">new research</a>, we explored the rapidly growing trade in land-based invertebrates across 23 Australian online pet stores and one popular classifieds website. We found an astonishing 264 species traded online – from spiders and scorpions, to beetles and snails. The most commonly advertised species were stick insects, tarantulas and ants – we found a staggering 57 species of ant for sale. </p>
<p>While most of the invertebrates were native to Australia, we also exposed trade in three highly invasive alien species. The white garden snail, the Asian tramp snail and the African big-headed ant all pose serious threats to Australia’s biosecurity. They threaten agriculture, forestry and even public health. </p>
<p>Our research is the first to reveal the scale and diversity of the invertebrate pet trade in Australia. It’s a fascinating insight into how a hobby or private passion can become both a biosecurity and conservation threat. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white garden snail (Theba pisana) infestation on stalks of grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=347&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532826/original/file-20230620-21-gs4r05.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The white garden snail or white Italian snail (Theba pisana) is a major pest in crops and pastures across southern Australia, but we also found it in the pet trade.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/incredible-infestation-white-garden-snails-theba-1734718532">Simone Hogan, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/astonishing-global-demand-for-exotic-pets-is-driving-a-massive-trade-in-unprotected-wildlife-188971">'Astonishing': global demand for exotic pets is driving a massive trade in unprotected wildlife</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The threat of invasive species trade</h2>
<p>Occasionally, exotic pets escape captivity, or are <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2059">released by their owners</a>. </p>
<p>Examples include the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237576227_The_Mexican_Redrump_Brachypelma_vagans_Araneae_Theraphosidae_an_Exotic_Tarantula_Established_in_Florida1">Mexican Red Rump Tarantula</a>, now an established alien species in Florida, and the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pacific-engagement/giant-african-snail#:%7E:text=About%20GAS,invasive%20species%20in%20the%20world.">giant African land snail</a>, which causes millions of dollars’ worth of damage to native plants and agricultural crops in many countries all over the world.</p>
<p>To avoid similar cases in Australia, we need better regulation and preventative measures. But why do people want to trade these <a href="https://neobiota.pensoft.net/article/51431/">species in the first place?</a> </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532797/original/file-20230619-22241-ogw2v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A range of tarantulas for sale at a European wildlife exposition. Credit: Sebastian Chekunov.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that some of the most sought-after species are considered “dangerous” and not recommended to be handled. Many of these species could inflict a painful bite or sting. Several are potentially lethal to humans. </p>
<p>Invertebrates are traded across the internet, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/lickable-toads-and-magic-mushrooms-wildlife-traded-on-the-dark-web-is-the-kind-that-gets-you-high-201180">the dark web</a> – where we found species such as goliath beetles and Chinese golden scorpions for sale. We also found native Australian invertebrates being traded at European wildlife expositions. </p>
<p>Invertebrates clearly make <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/zooming-in-on-the-hidden-world-of-invertebrates/">unique and fascinating</a> pets. Now that we have a better understanding of the scale of the invertebrate pet trade, we must ensure it is managed appropriately.</p>
<h2>We need to protect our native invertebrates</h2>
<p>Invertebrates are thought to make up almost <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982221008873">95% of animal species</a>, yet they are often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711002874?casa_token=s7N-DgMtydwAAAAA:ARKKQryPMAc3hxmCzL6bglzIlXoybqjxvL6rqBZIb8M8Lz0MsZz8UXK2lgA95ZyGD7ao_9m7dYxC">neglected in research and conservation</a>. Most <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719317823">invertebrate extinctions go unnoticed</a>. </p>
<p>In the face of limited knowledge on population status and distribution, evaluating conservation risk for individual species is challenging. </p>
<p>The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">Red List of Threatened Species</a> is the most comprehensive global database on the conservation status of wildlife. But almost all of the species (>90%) traded in our study had not had their conservation status evaluated by the IUCN. </p>
<p>Some species were advertised as “<a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-wildlife-trade">wild harvested</a>”, meaning they were taken from the wild rather than bred in captivity. This is an immediate conservation concern for native Australian species, especially those with small population sizes and limited distribution.</p>
<p>Encouraging people to learn more about the <a href="https://insectinvestigators.com.au/what-is-insect-investigators/">invertebrate species in their area</a> is essential for the conservation of global biodiversity. However, it is equally important to regulate their trade, in order to mitigate the associated risks to biosecurity and their conservation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="One child holds out their hand, with a colourful moth (Coscinocera hercules) resting on it while another reaches out to it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532845/original/file-20230620-36359-uv14gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s largest moth, the Hercules (Coscinocera hercules) could be targeted for the invertebrate trade in the future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-holds-butterfly-on-their-hand-2193124143">Tatevosian Yana, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/they-might-not-have-a-spine-but-invertebrates-are-the-backbone-of-our-ecosystems-lets-help-them-out-193447">They might not have a spine, but invertebrates are the backbone of our ecosystems. Let's help them out</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is this trade legal or illegal?</h2>
<p>The invertebrate trade in Australia is poorly regulated, and the line between what is considered legal or illegal is often unclear. However, collecting species from <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/about-nrs/australias-protected-areas">protected areas</a> (such as national parks) without a permit is definitely illegal across Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.617">Almost half of all threatened species’</a> also range across privately owned land in Australia. </p>
<p>The extent of wild harvesting on both public and private land is largely unknown. But it is highly likely that illegal activity is occurring within Australia’s invertebrate trade.</p>
<p>Legislation concerning the import and export of invertebrates across state borders exists to some extent, but varies, across all Australian states and territories. The number of species declared as pests and the level of penalties for transporting these species differs considerably. This reduces the credibility and effectiveness of biosecurity efforts. </p>
<p>Overall, the Australian legal system governing the domestic trade of invertebrates largely ignores the pet trade. The focus of compliance is almost exclusively on crop pests, ignoring the broader invertebrate pet trade. We think this has to change.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Tarantula spider on boy's shoulder appears to reach for the child's face (Brachypelma albopilosum)." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532860/original/file-20230620-19-sobxpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The curlyhair tarantula (Tliltocatl albopilosus) is native to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Originally captured from the wild for the international pet trade, it is now commonly bred in captivity and traded internationally with a permit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tarantula-spider-stretches-paw-childs-face-1781724329">Lipatova Maryna, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lickable-toads-and-magic-mushrooms-wildlife-traded-on-the-dark-web-is-the-kind-that-gets-you-high-201180">Lickable toads and magic mushrooms: wildlife traded on the dark web is the kind that gets you high</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Barely scratching the surface</h2>
<p>There are still many unknowns about the invertebrate pet trade. Our findings have only begun to scratch the surface of what is actually being traded in Australia. </p>
<p>Ongoing research will further explore the trade of invertebrates within Australian brick-and-mortar pet stores, at wildlife trade expositions, and within international wildlife seizure data. </p>
<p>Vital steps towards ensuring the preservation of Australia’s unique invertebrate biodiversity include strengthening regulations, encouraging responsible practices, and fostering collaboration – between researchers, hobbyists, and environmental biosecurity agencies.</p>
<p>Managing Australia’s online invertebrate trade is a delicate balancing act. We hope Australia’s growing trade in invertebrates can be managed to support best-practice conservation while promoting a greater connection to nature.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phill Cassey is an inaugural ARC Industry Laureate Fellow. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Lassaline does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research exposing the surprising scale and diversity of Australia’s invertebrate pet trade online highlights the need for better regulation to protect our wildlife and manage biosecurity threats.Charlotte Lassaline, PhD Student, University of AdelaidePhill Cassey, Head, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067092023-06-09T12:26:09Z2023-06-09T12:26:09ZUK ivory trade ban extended to five more species – here’s why we think it will be ineffective<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530555/original/file-20230607-23-m1kddg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C6%2C4092%2C2713&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The import of ivory into the UK from five more species, including walruses, has been banned.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wildlife-photographer-arctic-walrus-on-sand-1569758596">Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The loss of nature is one of the many environmental crises facing our planet. And a key challenge in addressing this is halting the poaching and trafficking of wildlife, which is often driven by demand for ivory.</p>
<p>In a bid to protect animals from poaching, the UK government has <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/five-new-species-set-to-be-protected-under-ivory-act-extension">strengthened legal protections</a> for five more species. Trading in ivory from <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/hippopotamus-mammal-species">hippos</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/walrus">walruses</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/narwhal">narwhals</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/killer-whale">killer whales</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/sperm-whale">sperm whales</a> is set to be prohibited under the extended provisions of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2018/30/contents/enacted">Ivory Act 2018</a>. Since coming into force last year, this act has gained recognition as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65673951">“one of the toughest bans of its kind in the world”</a>. </p>
<p>Its initial objective was to curb the trafficking of elephant tusks, which are smuggled and sold for purposes including traditional medicine and as trophies and ornaments. It bans people from selling, renting, importing or exporting elephant ivory in the UK. Those found guilty of breaking the law can face fines of up to £250,000 and, in severe cases, even imprisonment.</p>
<p>The newly protected species make up a smaller proportion of the ivory trafficking trade than elephants. But these animals are still hunted for their ivory. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.bornfree.org.uk/publications/a-tooth-for-a-tooth">recent investigation</a> examined 621 online listings of ivory in the UK, and discovered that approximately one-third originated from non-elephant species. Furthermore, a <a href="https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/often-overlooked-ivory-trade-a-rapid-assessment-of-the-international-trade-in-hippo-ivory/">separate report</a> highlighted clear demand for hippo ivory: between 2009 and 2018, an estimated 957kg of hippo ivory was seized globally.</p>
<p>The legal protection of trading in these species potentially serves as a deterrent for ivory traffickers. But it’s important to recognise that any ban is only as good as its enforcement. We think the effectiveness of the Ivory Act’s legal extensions may be hindered by several barriers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hippo head coming out of water with its mouth wide open." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530562/original/file-20230607-21-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Between 2009 and 2018, an estimated 957kg of hippo ivory was seized globally.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hippo-head-coming-out-water-wide-1727243290">Carlene Thurston/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Global disparity in wildlife law</h2>
<p>In many countries, the trade in ivory is merely “regulated” rather than prohibited, allowing existing markets to persist. In 2022, <a href="https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-12274-2022-ADD-2/en/pdf">ten African nations</a> attempted to increase protections for hippos. However, their proposal was rejected and the legal trade in hippo ivory continues in those countries.</p>
<p>The global disparity between wildlife trade laws enables the continued circulation of illegally obtained ivory, often laundered alongside trade in legitimate ivory. Hong Kong, for example, declares a higher volume of hippo ivory imported from Uganda than the volume Uganda declares it exports. Some <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/aje.12441">14,000kg of hippo teeth were unaccounted for</a> between Uganda and Hong Kong from 1995 to 2013, suggesting actual trade levels greatly exceed the agreed quotas.</p>
<p>The impact on ivory trafficking of an extended ban is likely to remain limited without a global consensus on wildlife laws. Yet unfortunately, there is wide variation in wildlife protection laws across different countries, with each state adopting its own approach. This remains the case despite <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003007838/cites-protecting-wildlife-tanya-wyatt">international law</a> setting out the basis for wildlife protection. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://cites.org/eng">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species</a> (Cites), for instance, imposes international restrictions on wildlife trade that signatory countries are obliged to comply with. Similarly, <a href="https://iwc.int/management-and-conservation/whaling/commercial">commercial whaling activities</a> are explicitly prohibited by the <a href="https://iwc.int/en/">International Whaling Commission</a>. </p>
<p>However, there are many cases where countries have signed these agreements without implementing or enforcing the necessary changes. Earlier this year, Mexico acknowledged that it <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/mexico-ap-cites-sea-shepherd-mexico-city-b2308050.html">faces sanctions</a> from Cites for failing to adequately protect the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/vaquita">vaquita marina</a>, an endangered species of porpoise.</p>
<h2>2. Policing</h2>
<p>Wildlife crimes are not always given the priority they require. <a href="https://www.ifaw.org/uk/resources/make-wildlife-matter-report">Research</a> based on surveys of UK police forces and police and crime commissioners found that wildlife crime enforcement was heavily dependent on the “enthusiasm, dedication and specialist knowledge of individual officers”.</p>
<p>Other studies consistently show that wildlife crime enforcement <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-011-9140-4%20or%20https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/11066/">suffers from inadequate resources</a>, and is not considered a primary focus within mainstream policing in the UK. Although the UK has a dedicated <a href="https://www.nwcu.police.uk/">National Police Wildlife Crime Unit</a>, training in wildlife crime is not included in the compulsory training regime for police officers. As a result, wildlife crimes are inconsistently prosecuted, and even when cases do reach the courts, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-21576-6_11">fines and sentencing are often lenient</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A UK wildlife & rural crime officer’s patrol car." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530560/original/file-20230607-27-qd01sb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Training in wildlife crime does not form part of UK police officer training.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beverley-east-yorkshire-uk-14-february-1317305369">Mick Atkins/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Criminal organisations</h2>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12117-020-09385-9">Organised crime networks</a> play a significant role in facilitating the illegal ivory trade. It’s therefore likely that numerous unreported and undiscovered incidents occur. These criminal networks employ various techniques to facilitate their activities, including sophisticated smuggling methods, bribery, corruption and exploiting porous borders.</p>
<p>The participation of criminal organisations contributes to a lack of understanding about the true scale of the ivory trade and the different species involved. This <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10610-011-9140-">hinders efforts</a> to gather accurate data on the ivory trade and allocate resources for enforcement.</p>
<h2>4. Ivory identification</h2>
<p>UK authorities enforcing the strengthened ban on ivory trade face the additional hurdle of accurately identifying ivory and ivory products. Traffickers commonly employ tactics to deceive by disguising elephant ivory as other products, particularly on online marketplaces. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1940082920974604">Research</a> has documented cases where ivory has been misrepresented as materials from other species, such as cow bone, on ecommerce platforms. This practice makes it difficult to distinguish illicit ivory trade from legitimate transactions. </p>
<p>The situation will be further complicated by the fact that some existing ivory markets, such as <a href="https://www.bornfree.org.uk/publications/a-tooth-for-a-tooth">those involving warthogs</a>, are not covered by the extended Ivory Act. These gaps in protection again provide avenues for traffickers to exploit, by hiding illegal ivory among legal ivory trade.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Various souvenirs carved from ivory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530568/original/file-20230607-5320-iwb073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Accurately identifying ivory and ivory products can be challenging.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/souvenirs-amulets-carved-ivory-sale-thaicambodia-1130439302">Christopher PB/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Any law that protects threatened wildlife should be welcomed. However, a ban alone will not prevent illegal activity. The establishment of a properly funded enforcement regime is essential if we are to safeguard our natural world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angus Nurse has received funding from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to independently research the current state of wildlife crime in the UK. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elliot Doornbos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Any law that protects threatened wildlife should be welcomed – but a ban alone will not prevent illegal activity.Elliot Doornbos, Senior Lecturer of Criminology, Nottingham Trent UniversityAngus Nurse, Head of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2011802023-05-04T05:13:44Z2023-05-04T05:13:44ZLickable toads and magic mushrooms: wildlife traded on the dark web is the kind that gets you high<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524271/original/file-20230504-24-jzg7ba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=122%2C32%2C5332%2C3598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Colorado River toad</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet has made it easier for people to buy and sell a huge variety of wildlife – from orchids, cacti and fungi to thousands of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, as well as insects, corals and other invertebrates.</p>
<p>But alongside legal trade in wildlife, there’s a dark twin – illegal trading of wildlife. Endangered birds with very few left in the wild. Horns sawn off shot rhinos. The illegal wildlife trade is a blight. It puts yet more pressure on nature, adds to biodiversity loss and threatens biosecurity, sustainable development and human wellbeing <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0363-6">globally</a>. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/pan3.10469">new research</a>, we probed the dark web – the secretive section of the internet deliberately set up out of view of search engines. Most people associate the dark web with illicit drug marketplaces. We wanted to see what types of wildlife were being sold there. </p>
<p>The result? Across 51 dark web marketplaces, we found 153 species being sold. These were almost entirely plants and fungi with psychoactive effects, indicating they are part of the well-known dark web drug trade. There were only a small number of advertisements offering vertebrates such as the infamous <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dont-lick-this-toad-national-park-service-says-180981092/#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CAnd%20there's%20a%20whole%20sect,called%205%2DMeO%2DDMT.">Colorado River toad</a>, which faces poaching pressure because its skin secretes psychoactive toxins as a defence.</p>
<p>Why aren’t traders in illegal wildlife using the dark web? Mainly because the trade in illegally traded animals and animal parts is not hidden – it’s all over the open internet. For instance, the frog toxin kambo used in the ritual <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/02/its-not-good-nsw-inquest-hears-of-womans-last-words-during-kambo-frog-toxin-ritual">that killed</a> a Mullumbimby woman in 2019 is still sold openly.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="magic mushrooms" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524273/original/file-20230504-28-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magic mushrooms from the Psilocybe genus were commonly sold on the dark web.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What was being sold on the dark web?</h2>
<p>We found over 3,000 advertisements selling wildlife species on dark web marketplaces between 2014 and 2020. We searched these marketplaces for keywords relating to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340921008076">wildlife trade and species names</a>. </p>
<p>What was for sale? Of the 153 species we found, we verified 68 as containing psychoactive chemicals. </p>
<p>The most commonly traded species was a South American tree <em>Mimosa tenuiflora</em>, commonly known as jurema preta, whose bark contains an extremely potent hallucinogen, DMT. Plants made up most of the species being sold, with many coming from Central and Southern America. </p>
<p>We also found 19 species of Psilocybe fungi being sold. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/astonishing-global-demand-for-exotic-pets-is-driving-a-massive-trade-in-unprotected-wildlife-188971">'Astonishing': global demand for exotic pets is driving a massive trade in unprotected wildlife</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many species were being sold for their purported medical properties, as well a small number of species being sold for clothing, decoration or as pets. </p>
<p>Many of the animals we found on the dark web have a long history of being illegally traded, such as live African grey parrots, as well as elephant ivory, rhino horn, and the teeth and skins of tigers and lions. </p>
<p>We also found small amounts of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320720300677">less commonly documented wildlife</a>, including the Goliath beetle, Chinese golden scorpion and Japanese sea cucumber.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Japanese sea cucumber" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524274/original/file-20230504-30-7tx7d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Japanese sea cucumbers were also being sold.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The illegal wildlife trade is hard to stop</h2>
<p>Globally, the wildlife trade is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). But the regulated market is just a fraction of the whole. To date, CITES protects less than 5% of traded species. The number of species traded live outnumbers the regulated trade by <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13978">at least three times</a>, according to some estimates. </p>
<p>To date, there have been few effective disincentives to stop traffickers from selling illegal wildlife online. Punishments for convicted wildlife traffickers are not effective, with Australian traffickers continuing to harvest animals even <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-02/animal-smuggler-fined-after-native-fauna-found-in-his-car/102040096">after being caught</a>. </p>
<p>Efforts to combat wildlife trafficking online <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110040">are increasing</a>. One positive recent initiative is the <a href="https://www.endwildlifetraffickingonline.org/">End Wildlife Trafficking Online</a> coalition. It’s a collaboration between animal NGOs and online platforms like Facebook, Alibaba and eBay aimed at rooting out online trafficking. </p>
<p>While clamping down on illicit open web trade is crucial, crackdowns here make it more likely that a wider range of wildlife will surface on the dark web.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Australia and all other nations that have signed up to CITES have a responsibility to keep track of internet-based wildlife trade. At recent CITES conferences resolutions were made to track and report all internet trade – including on the dark web – in an effort to boost monitoring and enforcement of wildlife trafficked online. </p>
<p>One stumbling block is the legality of online trade, which depends on factors such as the laws of the country or countries involved and whether the sale actually took place. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Red tailed black cockatoo" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524275/original/file-20230504-14-2l8yxn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red-tailed black cockatoos are illegally trafficked overseas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To stop the trafficking of iconic Australian species <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-10-02/illegal-wildlife-trade-reports-of-trafficking-increase/100508584">such as</a> shingleback lizards and red-tailed black cockatoos, authorities here have to monitor <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acv.12721">what native species</a> are being bought and sold online, as well as the species <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/pc/PC21057">trafficked into and through</a> Australia. </p>
<p>Since 2019 we have been monitoring the wildlife trade in Australia, drawing data from over 80 websites and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01830-9">forums</a>. </p>
<p>Datasets like this will be vital in monitoring and combating internet-facilitated wildlife crime as it continues to grow – especially if enforcement drives traffickers to harder-to-access parts of the internet like the dark web. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-expose-of-australias-exotic-pet-trade-shows-an-alarming-proliferation-of-alien-threatened-and-illegal-species-203354">New exposé of Australia's exotic pet trade shows an alarming proliferation of alien, threatened and illegal species</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phill Cassey receives funding from the Australian Research Council and previously the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Toomes receives funding from the Australian Research Council and previously the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlotte Lassaline previously received funding from the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Freyja Watters receives funding from an Adelaide University Postgraduate Research Scholarship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacob Maher previously received funding from the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions. He is affiliated with the National Tertiary Education Union.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Oliver C. Stringham previously received funding from the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p>Most wildlife is trafficked openly, while dark web markets sell animals, plants and fungi as drugs. But this could change if there’s a clampdown on open trade.Phill Cassey, Head, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of AdelaideAdam Toomes, Ph.D. student at the Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Group, University of AdelaideCharlotte Lassaline, PhD Student, University of AdelaideFreyja Watters, PhD candidate, University of AdelaideJacob Maher, PhD Candidate, University of AdelaideOliver C. Stringham, Researcher, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2033542023-04-25T23:35:57Z2023-04-25T23:35:57ZNew exposé of Australia’s exotic pet trade shows an alarming proliferation of alien, threatened and illegal species<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522449/original/file-20230424-14-vj5jul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=28%2C42%2C4716%2C2994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A redtailed catfish.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bk87/Shuttterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has a global reputation for being tough on biosecurity. There are strict rules around the import and export of both native and exotic species. Security is tight, and advanced screening technology commonplace at ports of entry and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2022.757950/full">mail centres</a>.</p>
<p>But it’s a different story within the country, with plenty of movement of wildlife across state borders. </p>
<p>Our research published today <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110040">in the journal Biological Conservation</a> uncovers the surprising scale and diversity of the domestic online pet trade in Australia. Threatened species, invasive pests, banned imports, and animals not yet known to science are all for sale.</p>
<p>Over a 14-week period, prior to the commencement of Australian COVID-19 restrictions, we detected the trade of more than 100,000 individual live animals. This included more than 60,000 separate advertisements and a total of 1,192 species, including 81 threatened species, 667 alien (non-native) species, and 279 species that are not allowed to be imported into Australia.</p>
<p>We hope our results, from the first systematic survey of exotic vertebrate pets (this includes non-domesticated reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds) traded in Australia, will help biosecurity agencies identify high-risk and potentially illegal species.</p>
<h2>What’s the problem with trading exotic pets?</h2>
<p>Unregulated wildlife trade poses serious threats to animal welfare, <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2059">conservation, human health and biosecurity</a>.</p>
<p>As well as the conservation threat of unsustainably harvesting <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13978?af=R">live animals from the wild</a>, wildlife trade is a source of novel invasive species and their diseases. When exotic species escape from captivity they can become pests. An infamous example is the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-have-invasive-pythons-impacted-florida-ecosystems">Burmese pythons</a> of Everglades National Park in the United States, which continue to eat through the native wildlife at an unparalleled rate.</p>
<p>These issues are not lost on Australian biosecurity and conservation agencies. A recent crackdown on reptile smuggling, establishing additional international protection for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/04/australia-adds-127-reptiles-to-global-treaty-in-crackdown-on-cruel-and-abhorrent-smuggling">127 native species</a>, shows a recognition of the need for more stringent regulation and surveillance. Although low prosecution rates and weak penalties continue to be a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-02/animal-smuggler-fined-after-native-fauna-found-in-his-car/102040096">barrier to effective enforcement</a>. </p>
<p>Australia goes well beyond its international obligations and prohibits the commercial import of <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/wildlife-trade/live-import-list">most live animals</a>. Yet audits of alien <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800915303323">cagebird</a> and <a href="https://www.reabic.net/journals/mbi/2022/2/MBI_2022_Millington_etal.pdf">ornamental fish</a> trades show they are thriving within Australia.</p>
<h2>Booming online trade</h2>
<p>Traditionally, pets have been sold from brick and mortar stores or traded between informal networks of keepers and breeders. But now, thanks to online marketplaces, pet trade has largely shifted to the internet. </p>
<p>E-commerce trading sites reach more potential customers across a wider area than previously possible. They also offer a degree of anonymity, meaning that <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.ade0843">blatantly illegal activity</a> can sometimes occur openly on websites and social media platforms.</p>
<p>To investigate if this was also happening in Australia, we identified 12 of the most prominent online platforms that sold exotic pets. We were able to rapidly monitor thousands of daily advertisements using an automated tool known as <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cobi.13675">webscraping</a>.</p>
<p>To our surprise and alarm, 56% of the trade involved alien species (over 600 species in total). Many of these are illegal to import into Australia or are known to be invasive overseas.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-risks-could-pet-hamsters-and-gerbils-pose-in-australia-192718">What risks could pet hamsters and gerbils pose in Australia?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Not everything is clearly illegal</h2>
<p>But these are not all clear-cut examples of illegal activity. The reality is more ambiguous: Australia’s import ban of most animals only came into effect in the early 1980s. So some exotic pets may have arrived in Australia before the ban and have been bred in captivity ever since. </p>
<p>This provides an element of plausible deniability. Traders can declare their animals to be captive-bred within Australia, even if some have been smuggled into the country at a later stage. We found this issue was especially prominent for ornamental fish, with 279 illegal-to-import species being traded in an unregulated manner.</p>
<p>What’s worse is some traders are specialising in animals that are not yet known to science, meaning they haven’t been formally classified, named or described. The presence of undescribed species in Australia, mostly freshwater catfish and African cichlids, can only be explained by illegal smuggling or the exploitation of trade loopholes. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two brightly coloured flowerhorn cichlid fish face each other, against a green leafy background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521801/original/file-20230419-14-38q2nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The flowerhorn cichlid is a multi-species hybrid – an example of a pet fish that is difficult to classify. Traders use pseudo-taxonomic units.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/flowerhorn-cichlid-fish-508236964">Independent birds/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is greater oversight needed?</h2>
<p>It is clear Australia’s exotic pet trade is far more prevalent and less regulated than previously understood. Some researchers call for e-commerce platforms such as Facebook to take greater responsibility by <a href="https://www.counteringcrime.org/wildlife-sales-on-facebook">policing wildlife trade</a>. This would reduce opportunities for non-compliant activity occurring on their sites. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, was <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.ade0843">recently fined</a> for failing to remove illegal trade.</p>
<p>Regardless of how future trade is managed, we are now left with the question of how to deal with thousands of live animals already present that should never have been brought to Australia.</p>
<p>The immediate prohibition of these pets is not feasible. The social licence to euthanise so many animals does not exist and there are no facilities large enough to house them all. Bans, when ineffectively communicated and enforced, can also <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/194008291200500302">bolster illegal trade and organised crime</a>. </p>
<p>Permit systems are sometimes used to regulate native pets. A permit is harder to acquire if the species in question poses a greater threat. <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.14138">Recent evidence</a> shows that this can reduce the number of captive animals, and potentially fewer escapees.</p>
<p>Whether such systems can be introduced for these problematic alien species remains to be seen, but new approaches are urgently needed if Australia is to tackle its pet trade problem.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/big-tech-regulators-and-conservationists-must-unite-to-tackle-online-wildlife-trade-173431">Big tech, regulators and conservationists must unite to tackle online wildlife trade</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Toomes receives funding from The Australian Research Council, and previously from the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phill Cassey receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p>Trade in exotic pets online is far more prevalent and diverse than previously thought. Threatened species, invasive species and banned imports are all for sale.Adam Toomes, Ph.D. student at the Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Group, University of AdelaidePhill Cassey, Head, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1982382023-01-20T16:33:24Z2023-01-20T16:33:24ZTigers in South Africa: a farming industry exists – often for their body parts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505532/original/file-20230120-26-t92yp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tigers in South Africa are being intensively farmed for commercial trade.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hristo Vladev/NurPhoto via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>A tiger <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tiger-euthanised-south-africa-after-escaping-private-home-2023-01-18/">escaped</a> from a residence and roamed the countryside outside Johannesburg, South Africa, for four days this month. It attacked a man and killed several animals, and was eventually shot by the authorities. Tigers aren’t native to South Africa and are considered an alien species. Its escape <a href="https://www.news24.com/fin24/climate_future/environment/sa-exported-hundreds-of-tigers-in-recent-years-slammed-for-intensive-breeding-20230120">highlights</a> the country’s controversial commercial captive breeding industry and the key role South Africa plays in the international big cat <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85292/">trade</a>. Tigers are being intensively farmed for tourism, hunting, and commercial trade in live individuals and in their body parts.</em> </p>
<p><em>Moina Spooner, assistant editor at The Conversation Africa, asked Neil D'Cruze and Angie Elwin to share their insights into the industry.</em></p>
<h2>What are your main concerns about South Africa’s captive predator industry?</h2>
<p>The recent tiger escape in Johannesburg demonstrates the safety risk that this industry poses to wildlife farm workers, visitors and the public. Attacks by big cats in South Africa have resulted in <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/just-in-man-killed-in-lion-attack-at-game-reserve-north-of-pretoria-20190820#:%7E:text=A%2070%2Dyear%2Dold%20man,the%20man%20who%20was%20attacked.">multiple</a> life-changing human injuries and deaths in recent years. </p>
<p>Although individual tigers can be tamed to varying degrees, this should not be confused with domestication. They are wild animals. They have biological and behavioural needs that can only be fully met in the wild. </p>
<p>Another concern we have is for animal welfare. Big cat breeding facilities in South Africa have been consistently <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/lion-farm-south-africa">criticised</a> for their substandard conditions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505603/original/file-20230120-87-lno3mf.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lion and tigers in a mixed enclosure at a commercial captive breeding facility in South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">courtesy BloodLions.org</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Also, none of the big cat facilities in South Africa have demonstrated that they are basing their breeding programmes on internationally recognised stud books or have successfully released any tigers back into the wild. Therefore, currently they provide no demonstrable direct conservation benefit.</p>
<p>Rather, there are serious concerns that South Africa’s legal industry in captive bred tigers is a detrimental conduit for international illegal trade. A large proportion of the tigers are <a href="https://media.4-paws.org/a/e/4/4/ae445daeb7163daba12521cc1c79a6a71b8fc1e0/FOUR%20PAWS%20Year%20of%20the%20Tiger%20Report.pdf">exported</a> as live animals and body parts to China, Vietnam and Thailand. These are renowned hotspots for demand in tiger body parts and the illegal tiger trade.</p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/">World Animal Protection</a>, an animal protection organisation that we also work with, has received intelligence which indicates poachers are targeting tigers in captive breeding facilities. Their heads and paws are harvested and trafficked to meet Asian consumer demand. </p>
<p>Another major concern we have, from our intelligence reports, is that some farm owners appear to be shifting operations from lions to tigers and ligers, lion-tiger hybrids. This may be in response to South Africa’s recent <a href="https://www.dffe.gov.za/speeches/creecy_releaseofhlpreport_pretoria?fbclid=IwAR071TG1zwa1IX5kpFLvubD6NEhQfmculxdT6rYLBdh-TVPpY6jQn7RHKhU">announcement</a> of its decision to end lion farming.</p>
<h2>Is there any data on the number and location of tigers in South Africa?</h2>
<p>According to the <a href="https://conservationaction.co.za/resources/reports/answer-to-south-african-parlimentary-question-noting-there-are-approximately-7979-lions-in-captivity-in-366-facilities/">Minister</a> of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, there are more than 350 private or government-owned facilities in South Africa that actively breed or keep big cat species. These include tigers, lions, cheetahs, leopards, jaguars, pumas, caracals, servals and hybrids.</p>
<p>The exact captive population size of these species is unknown, as the industry has never been fully audited. This is because there’s a lack of adequate and effective regulation, resources and political will. However, according to latest unpublished data held by the provincial authorities (that we are reviewing as part of our research) and online research by <a href="https://bloodlions.org/">Blood Lions</a>, 492 tigers were kept in registered private facilities in 2022. According to published <a href="https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/85108/">data</a>, in 2019 permits were held for 5,291 lions, 373 cheetahs and 176 leopards in Mpumalanga, Free State, North West, and Gauteng alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505626/original/file-20230120-12-vm5shh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Captive tiger at a commercial captive breeding facility in South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">courtesy BloodLions.org</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even if these figures are only part of the picture, that’s an apparent increase in South Africa’s captive tiger population. Previous reports by the <a href="https://eia-international.org/wildlife/saving-tigers/tiger-farming/illegal-trade-seizures-captive-tiger-trade/">Environmental Investigation Agency</a> and <a href="https://media.4-paws.org/a/e/4/4/ae445daeb7163daba12521cc1c79a6a71b8fc1e0/FOUR%20PAWS%20Year%20of%20the%20Tiger%20Report.pdf">Four Paws</a> indicated that around 100 tigers were held in facilities across seven provinces between 2019 and 2021.</p>
<p>Exactly how tigers end up on commercial farms in South Africa is unclear. However, the CITES Trade Database <a href="https://trade.cites.org/">shows</a> that 66 live tigers were imported into the country over the last decade, mainly from Germany, Botswana, Romania and Lesotho. In comparison, 384 were exported live, mostly to zoos, circuses and breeding facilities in Vietnam, China, Thailand, Bangladesh and Pakistan.</p>
<h2>Is enough being done to manage the industry?</h2>
<p>South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa that still allows the commercial captive breeding, keeping and hunting of tigers, along with their domestic and international trade. This is despite a ban in <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/document/E-Res-12-05-R18.pdf">1987</a> on international tiger trade and a 2007 international treaty <a href="https://cites.org/eng/node/48507">decision</a> to prohibit the commercial captive breeding of tigers for trade in their parts or derivatives. These derivatives include their bones, bile, fat and blood, which are used in traditional medicines. </p>
<p>The main statute regulating big cat species in South Africa is the 2004 National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-environmental-management-biodiversity-act-0">(NEMBA)</a>. Though provincial regulations vary considerably, under the <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-environmental-management-biodiversity-act-0">Biodiversity Act</a> anyone who has a permit can import, possess, breed or trade in tigers. </p>
<p>To match legal measures already taken by the international community, South Africa should make a public commitment to end the commercial captive breeding, keeping, hunting and international trade in tigers and their body parts. </p>
<p>It is unclear why South Africa has not yet done this. Economic reasons are likely to be a main driver, but this is debated given the potential economic harm caused by damage to the country’s international <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989420306983?via%3Dihub">reputation</a>. Other reasons could be the right to private ownership of wildlife and potential constitutional issues. </p>
<p>A comprehensive, well-managed plan will be required to ensure a responsible transition away from the current industry. This should include regular audits, inspections by the relevant authorities and proper record keeping. </p>
<p>This decision should be mandatory, made in lock step across all provinces in South Africa. It should also be extended to other big cat species that could potentially be used as substitutes for the illegal international trade in tiger bones.</p>
<p><em>The authors extend their thanks to Dr Louise de Waal of <a href="https://bloodlions.org/">Blood Lions</a> for her informative insights and for sharing the latest data on number of big cats on predator facilities.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198238/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil D’Cruze works for an international NGO, World Animal Protection as the Head of Wildlife Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angie Elwin works for an international NGO, World Animal Protection as a Wildlife Research Manager. </span></em></p>Tigers exist in South Africa because they’re being intensively farmed for commercial trade in live individuals or their body parts.Neil D’Cruze, Global Head of Wildlife Research, World Animal Protection, and Visiting Researcher, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), University of OxfordAngie Elwin, Wildlife Research Manager at World Animal Protection and Visiting Research Fellow, University of ReadingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1936812022-11-29T13:34:23Z2022-11-29T13:34:23ZIs China ready to lead on protecting nature? At the upcoming UN biodiversity conference, it will preside and set the tone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497108/original/file-20221123-12-d0smj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C2977%2C2070&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Four Père David's deer (_Elaphurus davidianus_), also known as milu deer, on a wetland near the Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Jiangsu Province, China. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/herd-of-milu-deer-are-seen-on-a-wetland-near-the-dafeng-news-photo/1269804369">He Jinghua/VCG via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the world parses what was achieved at the U.N. climate change conference in Egypt, negotiators are convening in Montreal to set goals for curbing Earth’s other crisis: loss of living species.</p>
<p>Starting on Dec. 7, 2022, 196 nations that have ratified the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity will hold their 15th <a href="https://www.cbd.int/cop/">Conference of the Parties</a>, or COP15. The convention, which was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/guide/">designed to promote sustainable development</a> by protecting <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity">biodiversity</a> – the variety of life on Earth, from genes up to entire ecosystems. </p>
<p>Today, experts widely agree that biodiversity is at risk. Because of human activities – especially overhunting, overfishing and altering land – species are disappearing from the planet at <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/guide/?id=changing">50 to 100 times the historic rate</a>. The United Nations calls this decline a “<a href="https://www.unep.org/facts-about-nature-crisis">nature crisis</a>.”</p>
<p>This meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, in 2020 but was rescheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some negotiations held online. China will lead the deliberations in Montreal and will set the agenda and tone. This is the first time that Beijing has presided over a major intergovernmental meeting on the environment. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2TJfBOgAAAAJ">wildlife ecologist</a>, I am eager to see China step into a global leadership role.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GK_vRtHJZu4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Biodiversity matters, because having more ecosystems, species and genes makes nature more resilient and able to weather stresses like diseases and climate change.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Biodiversity in China</h2>
<p>If you ask people where on Earth the greatest concentrations of wild species are found, many will assume it’s in rainforests or tropical coral reefs. In fact, China also is rich in nature. It is home to nearly <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17520/biods.2022397">38,000</a> <a href="http://chertnews.de/Higher_Plants.html">higher plant</a> species – essentially, trees, shrubs and ferns; more than <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.17520/biods.2021214">8,100</a> species of vertebrate animals; over 1,400 bird species; and 20% of the world’s fish species. </p>
<p>Many of China’s wild species are <a href="https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/endemic">endemic</a>, meaning that they are found nowhere else in the world. China contains parts of four of the world’s <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/biodiversity-hotspots">global biodiversity hot spots</a> – places that have large numbers of endemic species and also are seriously at risk. <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/indo-burma">Indo-Burma</a>, the <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mountains-southwest-china">Mountains of Southwest China</a>, <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/himalaya">Eastern Himalaya</a> and the <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mountains-central-asia">Mountains of Central Asia</a> are home to species such as the giant panda, Asiatic black bear, the endangered Sichuan partridge, Xizang alpine toad, Sichuan lancehead and golden pheasant.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A panda walks on all fours through snow" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Giant panda in southwest China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vanessa Hull</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>China’s conservation record</h2>
<p>Western media coverage of environmental issues in China often focuses on the nation’s severe urban air pollution and its role as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57018837">world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter</a>. But China has a vision for protecting nature, and it has made progress since the last global biodiversity conference in 2018. </p>
<p>In that year, Chinese leaders coined the term “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aar3760">ecological civilization</a>” and wrote it into the nation’s constitution. This signaled a recognition that development should consider environmental impacts as well as economic goals.</p>
<p>At that point, China had already created <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01307-6">over 2,750 protected areas</a>, covering nearly 15% of its total land area. Protected areas are places where there is dedicated funding and management in place to conserve ecosystems, while also allowing for some human activities in designated zones within them. </p>
<p>In 2021 President Xi Jinping announced that China was formally augmenting this system with a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-12-11/inside-china-s-new-massive-national-park-system">network of five national parks</a> covering 88,000 square miles (227,000 square kilometers) – the largest such system in the world. </p>
<p>China also has the fastest-expanding forest area in the world. From 2013 to 2017 alone, China reforested <a href="https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=241353">825 million acres</a> (334 million hectares) of bare or cultivated land – an area <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/by-the-numbers">four times as large</a> as the entire U.S. national forest system.</p>
<p>At least <a href="https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=241353">10 of China’s notable endangered species</a> are on the path to recovery, including the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/712/121745669">giant panda</a>, <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/fr/species/22697548/132069229">Asian crested ibis</a> and <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679325/92810598">Elliot’s pheasant</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1574051936285908993"}"></div></p>
<h2>More to do</h2>
<p>Still, China has major areas for improvement. It has <a href="https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=241353">underperformed</a> on four of the original Aichi Targets – goals that members of the Convention on Biodiversity adopted for 2011-2020 – including promoting sustainable fisheries, preventing extinctions, controlling invasive alien species and protecting vulnerable ecosystems. </p>
<p>For example, nearly <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ddi.12961">50% of amphibians in China</a> are threatened. Notable species have been declared extinct, including the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/science/china-dugong-sea-cow-extinct.html">Chinese dugong</a>, the <a href="https://chinadialogue.net/en/digest/chinese-paddlefish-and-sturgeon-officially-extinct">Chinese paddlefish and Yangtze sturgeon</a>, and the <a href="http://www.primate-sg.org/whitehand_gibbon_extinct_china/">white-handed gibbon</a>. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted China’s central role in legal and illegal wildlife trade, which threatens many endangered <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/a-fast-growing-pipeline-the-amazon-to-southeast-asia-wildlife-trade/">mammals, fish, reptiles and birds</a>. In response, China updated its <a href="http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/12/content_1383926.htm">Wildlife Protection Law</a>, originally enacted in 1989. </p>
<p>On Feb. 24, 2020, the law was expanded to impose a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00677-0">near-total ban</a> on trading wildlife for use as food. Now, however, the ban is <a href="https://chinadialogue.net/en/nature/second-draft-revision-of-chinas-wildlife-protection-law-a-big-step-backwards/">being revised</a> in ways that could weaken it, such as easing restrictions on captive breeding. </p>
<p>Around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.08.019">90% of China’s grasslands </a>are degraded, as are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.06.003">53% of its coastal wetlands</a>. China has lost 80% of its coral reefs and 73% of its mangroves <a href="https://cdn.chinadialogue.net/content/uploads/2020/10/29175445/Sustainable-seafood-report-29-Oct-2020.pdf">since 1950</a>. These challenges highlight the need for aggressive action to protect the nation’s remaining biodiversity strongholds.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Satellite image of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Three Gorges Dam on China’s Yangtze River, visible at lower right, was built to supply electricity and help control flooding. It altered habitats for thousands of plants, animals and fish, including endangered species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/38000/38879/ISS019-E-07720_lrg.jpg">NASA Earth Observatory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Goals for COP15</h2>
<p>The central goal of the Montreal conference is adopting a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2021-20220">post-2020 global biodiversity framework</a>. This road map expands on frameworks put forth in past meetings, including the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/">2010 Aichi Targets</a>. As the U.N. has reported, nations <a href="https://www.cbd.int/gbo5">failed to meet any of the Aichi Targets</a> by 2020, although six goals were partially achieved. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/abb5/591f/2e46096d3f0330b08ce87a45/wg2020-03-03-en.pdf">The proposed new framework</a> includes 22 targets to meet by 2030 and four key long-term goals to meet by 2050. They include conserving ecosystems; enhancing the variety of benefits that nature provides to people; ensuring fairness in the sharing of genetic resources, such as digital DNA sequencing data; and solidifying funding commitments. </p>
<p>Many people will be watching to see whether China can successfully lead the negotiations and promote collaboration and consensus. One central challenge is how to pay for the ambitious efforts that the new framework lays out. Environmental advocates are urging wealthy countries to provide up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01430-7">US$60 billion annually</a> to help lower-income nations pay for conservation projects and curb illegal wildlife trafficking.</p>
<p>China moved in this direction in 2021 when it launched the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2021/pr-2021-10-13-cop15-hls-en.pdf">Kunming Biodiversity Fund</a> and contributed $230 million to it. Pledges from other countries currently total some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01430-7">$5.2 billion per year</a>, mainly from France, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union. </p>
<p>China is likely to face questions about its <a href="https://www.oecd.org/finance/Chinas-Belt-and-Road-Initiative-in-the-global-trade-investment-and-finance-landscape.pdf">Belt and Road Initiative</a>, a massive infrastructure project that is building railways, pipelines and highways across more than 60 countries. Critics say it is causing deforestation, flooding and other <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-financing-infrastructure-projects-around-the-world-many-could-harm-nature-and-indigenous-communities-168060">harmful environmental impacts</a> – including in global biodiversity hot spots like Southeast Asia’s <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/what-is-the-coral-triangle/">Coral Triangle</a>, which contains one of the world’s most important reef systems.</p>
<p>China has pledged to “<a href="https://green-bri.org/">green” the Belt and Road Initiative</a> going forward, and in 2021, Xi announced <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/24/chinas-pledge-to-stop-building-coal-plants-abroad-helps-bri-aiib.html">a ban</a> on financing new coal power plants overseas, which so far has led to cancellation of <a href="https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/china-coal-ban-anniversary/?module=inline&pgtype=article">26 plants</a>. This is a start, but China has more to do in addressing Belt and Road’s global impacts.</p>
<p>As home to <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=CN">18% of Earth’s population</a> and the producer of <a href="https://www.worldeconomics.com/Share-of-Global-GDP/China.aspx#:%7E:text=China's%20share%20of%20Global%20GDP%20in%202021%20was%2018.4%25%20once,year%20and%20informal%20economy%20size.">18.4% of global GDP</a>, China has a key role to play in protecting nature. I hope to see it provide bold leadership in Montreal and in the years ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vanessa Hull receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>China has rich natural resources and is seeking to play a leadership role in global conservation, but its economic goals often take priority over protecting lands and wildlife.Vanessa Hull, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1889712022-10-06T19:04:06Z2022-10-06T19:04:06Z‘Astonishing’: global demand for exotic pets is driving a massive trade in unprotected wildlife<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488405/original/file-20221006-12-7kg8gk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C0%2C2841%2C1664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Este Kotze/AP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Global demand for exotic pets is <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2059">increasing</a>, a trend partly caused by social media and a shift from physical pet stores to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/animals/2020/12/the-black-market-trade-in-wildlife-has-moved-online-and-the-deluge-is-dizzying">online marketplaces</a>.</p>
<p>The United States is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421000056">one of the biggest</a> markets for the wildlife trade. And our <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13978?af=R">new research</a> has identified an astonishing number of unregulated wild-caught animals being brought into the US – at a rate 11 times greater than animals regulated and protected under the relevant global convention. </p>
<p>Wildlife trade can have major negative consequences. It can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01399-y">threaten</a> the wild populations from which animals and plants are harvested, and introduce novel <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2059">invasive species</a> to new environments. It can also lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.10.001">diseases</a> transmitted from wildlife to humans and threaten the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2014.918511">welfare</a> of trafficked animals. </p>
<p>Tackling this problem requires an international effort – particularly by rich nations where the demand for exotic pets is greatest.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="an owl perched on a piece of fake grass next to yellow chair and vine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488408/original/file-20221006-20-ip7mxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Global demand for exotic pets is increasing. Pictured: a barred eagle-owl kept as a pet in Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mast Irham/EPA.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shining a light on the pet market</h2>
<p>Most live animals transported through the wildlife trade are destined for the global, multi-billion dollar exotic pet market. Captive breeding supplies a portion of this market, but many species are collected from the wild – often illegally.</p>
<p>Animals such as <a href="https://www.traffic.org/news/asian-otters-cites-parties-approve-highest-trade-protection-levels/">otters</a>, <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/pet-trades-cute-and-adorable-label-endangers-the-slow-loris/">slow lorises</a> and galagos or “<a href="https://doi.org/10.4404/hystrix-00455-2021">bushbabies</a>” are frequently depicted on social media as cute, and with human-like feelings and behaviours. This helps create demand for such species as pets which drives both the illegal and legal wildlife trades. </p>
<p>Non-native animals frequently smuggled <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/conl.12833">into Australia</a> in the past, include the corn snake, leopard gecko and red-eared slider turtle. Reptiles and birds are among the most commonly trafficked species because they can be easily transported.</p>
<p>Species deemed at risk from international trade are regulated through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (<a href="https://cites.org/eng">CITES</a>). It aims to ensure sustainable and traceable legal international trade. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://cites.org/eng/disc/species.php">convention lists</a> less than 10% of all described plants and terrestrial vertebrates, and less than 1% of all fish and invertebrate species. No international regulatory framework exists to monitor the trade of the many unlisted species.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/before-you-hit-share-on-that-cute-animal-photo-consider-the-harm-it-can-cause-126182">Before you hit 'share' on that cute animal photo, consider the harm it can cause</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia has rigorous regulations for exotic pet ownership and trade. Broadly, our native wildlife cannot be commercially exported.</p>
<p>However, Australia’s fauna is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-10-02/illegal-wildlife-trade-reports-of-trafficking-increase/100508584">poached from the wild</a> and illegally exported for the international pet market. Once the animal is smuggled out of Australia, its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12721">trade in recipient countries</a> is often not monitored or restricted.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acv.12721">research</a> last year showed four subspecies of Australia’s shingleback lizard – one of which <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-19/lizard-smuggling-research-sparks-call-for-stronger-protection/100295926">is endangered</a> – were being illegally extracted from the wild and smuggled out of the country, to be sold across Asia, Europe and North America.</p>
<p>This lack of overseas regulation prompted the former Morrison government to push for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/04/australia-adds-127-reptiles-to-global-treaty-in-crackdown-on-cruel-and-abhorrent-smuggling">127 native reptile species</a> targeted by international wildlife smugglers to be listed under CITES. They include blue tongue skinks and numerous gecko species.</p>
<p>But in the meantime, the global illegal wildlife trade continues. Our new research analysed the extent of this, by focusing on the movement of unlisted species to and from the US.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="otter in a blue cage listed for sale on social media" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304198/original/file-20191128-176584-1pmlad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Otter sold via Instagram in Indonesia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Instagram</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>The US is one of the few countries that maintains detailed records of all declared wildlife trade, including species not listed under CITES.</p>
<p><a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cobi.13978?af=R">We examined</a> a decade of data on wild-harvested, live vertebrate animals entering the US. Most would have been headed for the pet trade. We found 3.6 times the number of unlisted species in US imports compared with CITES-listed species – 1,356 versus 378 species.</p>
<p>Overall, 8.84 million animals from unlisted species were imported – about 11 times more than animals from CITES-listed species. More than a quarter of unlisted species faced conservation threats – including those with declining populations and those threatened with extinction.</p>
<p>For example, we found a substantial trade of the unlisted <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/asian-water-dragon">Asian water dragon</a>. These bright green lizards are native to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and southern China, and are considered vulnerable.</p>
<p>In the decade to 2018, more than 575,000 Asian water dragons were imported to the US from Vietnam. The species has been <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/documents/E-CoP19-Prop-14.pdf">proposed for inclusion</a> in CITES. But decades of unregulated global trade poses a major threat to the survival of native populations. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lizard-in-your-luggage-were-using-artificial-intelligence-to-detect-wildlife-trafficking-189779">Lizard in your luggage? We're using artificial intelligence to detect wildlife trafficking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Green lizard on branch in forest" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488410/original/file-20221006-25-3mjrr2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unregulated global trade threatens the wild populations of the Asian water dragon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do we fix this?</h2>
<p>Our study highlights the urgent need to monitor all traded wildlife species, not just those listed under CITES.</p>
<p>The biodiversity of life on Earth is under enormous pressure. Given this, and the other harms caused by the wildlife trade, this lack of regulation and monitoring is unacceptable. </p>
<p>For a species to be considered for listing under CITES, a national government must demonstrate that regulation is needed to prevent trade-related declines. But if trade in the species has never been monitored, how can that need be proven?</p>
<p>Sadly, the trade of many species is not formally regulated until it’s too late for their wild populations. Clearly, tighter regulation is needed to prevent this decline.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="here" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488411/original/file-20221006-18-zg1sar.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A critically endangered radiated tortoise recovering from capture by wildlife traffickers in Madagascar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wildlife Conservation Society/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Traded wildlife <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abf7679">predominantly flows</a> from lower-income to higher-income countries. Many source countries do not possess the frameworks needed to monitor the harvest and export of unlisted species.</p>
<p>So what should be done? First, all nations should follow the lead of the US and record species-level data for all wildlife imported and exported. This information should be gathered as part of a standardised data management system.</p>
<p>Such a system would increase compliance with the rules and make the origin of wildlife easier to trace It would allow trade data to be shared and integrated between countries and allow timely assessment of species which may need further protection. </p>
<p>And second, affluent countries – where demand for exotic pets is largest – must take the lead on sustainable trade practices. This should include supporting supply countries and pushing for better data collection. </p>
<p>Such measures are vital to protecting both wildlife and human wellbeing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188971/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Freyja Watters receives funding from an Adelaide University Postgraduate Research Scholarship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phill Cassey receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions.</span></em></p>Tackling this global problem requires an international effort – particularly by rich nations where the demand for exotic pets is increasing.Freyja Watters, PhD candidate, University of AdelaidePhill Cassey, Assoc Prof in Invasion Biogeography and Biosecurity, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881632022-08-14T20:04:15Z2022-08-14T20:04:15ZThe COVID lab leak theory is dead. Here’s how we know the virus came from a Wuhan market<p>My colleagues and I published the most <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abp8715">detailed</a> <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8337">studies</a> of the earliest events in the COVID-19 pandemic last month in the journal Science.</p>
<p>Together, these papers paint a coherent evidence-based picture of what took place in the city of Wuhan during the latter part of 2019.</p>
<p>The take-home message is the COVID pandemic probably did begin where the first cases were detected – at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market. </p>
<p>At the same time this lays to rest the idea that the virus escaped from a laboratory.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1551937826580824070"}"></div></p>
<h2>Huanan market was the pandemic epicentre</h2>
<p>An analysis of the geographic locations of the earliest known COVID cases – dating to December 2019 – revealed a strong clustering around the Huanan market. This was true not only for people who worked at or visited the market, but also for those who had no links to it.</p>
<p>Although there will be many missing cases, there’s no evidence of widespread sampling bias: the first COVID cases were not identified simply because they were linked to the Huanan market.</p>
<p>The Huanan market was the pandemic epicentre. From its origin there, the SARS-CoV-2 virus rapidly spread to other locations in Wuhan in early 2020 and then to the rest of the world.</p>
<p>The Huanan market is an indoor space about the size of two soccer fields. The word “seafood” in its name leaves a misleading impression of its function. When I visited the market in 2014, a variety of live wildlife was for sale including raccoon dogs and muskrats.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Dark image of the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, January 2020" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478649/original/file-20220811-20-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chinese authorities closed the Huanan market on the first day of 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the time I suggested to my Chinese colleagues that we sample these market animals for viruses. Instead, they set up a virological surveillance study at the nearby Wuhan Central Hospital, which later cared for many of the earliest COVID patients.</p>
<p>Wildlife were also on sale in the Huanan market in 2019. After the Chinese authorities closed the market on January 1 2020, investigative teams swabbed surfaces, door handles, drains, frozen animals and so on.</p>
<p>Most of the samples that later tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were from the south-western corner of the market. The wildlife I saw for sale on my visit in 2014 were in the south-western corner.</p>
<p>This establishes a simple and plausible pathway for the virus to jump from animals to humans.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-viruses-mutate-and-jump-species-and-why-are-spillovers-becoming-more-common-134656">How do viruses mutate and jump species? And why are 'spillovers' becoming more common?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Animal spillover</h2>
<p>SARS-CoV-2 has evolved into an array of lineages, some familiar to us as the “variants of concern” (what we call Delta, Omicron and so on). The first split in the SARS-CoV-2 family tree – between the “A” and “B” lineages – occurred very early in the pandemic. Both lineages have an epicentre at the market and both were detected there.</p>
<p>Further analyses suggest the A and B lineages were the products of separate jumps from animals. This simply means there was a pool of infected animals in the Huanan market, fuelling multiple exposure events.</p>
<p>Reconstructing the history of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence through time showed the B lineage was the first to jump to humans. It was followed, perhaps a few weeks later, by the A lineage. </p>
<p>All these events are estimated to have occurred no earlier than late October 2019. Claims that the virus was spreading before this date can be dismissed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A team of people doing disinfecting work at the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, March 2020" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478648/original/file-20220811-617-wdm2i8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A team of people working on disinfecting the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, March 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">China News Service/Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s missing, of course, is that we don’t yet know exactly which animals were involved in the transfer of SARS-CoV-2 to humans. Live wildlife were removed from the Huanan market before the investigative team entered, increasing public safety but hampering origin hunting. </p>
<p>The opportunity to find the direct animal host has probably passed. As the virus likely rapidly spread through its animal reservoir, it’s overly optimistic to think it would still be circulating in these animals today.</p>
<p>The absence of a definitive animal source has been taken as tacit support for counter claims that SARS-CoV-2 in fact “leaked” from a scientific laboratory – the Wuhan Institute of Virology.</p>
<h2>Death knell for the lab leak theory</h2>
<p>The lab leak theory rests on an unfortunate coincidence: that SARS-CoV-2 emerged in a city with a laboratory that works on bat coronaviruses.</p>
<p>Some of these bat coronaviruses are closely related to SARS-CoV-2. But not close enough to be direct ancestors.</p>
<p>Sadly, the focus on the Wuhan Institute of Virology has distracted us from a far more important connection: that, like SARS-CoV-1 (which emerged in late 2002) before it, there’s a direct link between a coronavirus outbreak and a live animal market.</p>
<p>Consider the odds that a virus that leaked from a lab was first detected at the very place where you would expect it to emerge if it in fact had a natural animal origin – vanishingly low. And these odds drop further as we need to link both the A and B lineages to the market.</p>
<p>Was the market just the location of a super-spreading event? Nothing says so. It wasn’t a crowded location in the bustling and globally connected metropolis of Wuhan. It’s not even close to being the busiest market or shopping mall in the city.</p>
<p>For the lab leak theory to be true, SARS-CoV-2 must have been present in the Wuhan Institute of Virology before the pandemic started. This would convince me. </p>
<p>But the inconvenient truth is there’s not a single piece of data suggesting this. There’s no evidence for a genome sequence or isolate of a precursor virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Not from gene sequence databases, scientific publications, annual reports, student theses, social media, or emails. </p>
<p>Even the intelligence community has found nothing. Nothing. And there was no reason to keep any work on a SARS-CoV-2 ancestor secret before the pandemic.</p>
<p>To assign the origin of SARS-CoV-2 to the Wuhan Institute of Virology requires a set of increasingly implausible “what if?” scenarios. These eventually lead to preposterous suggestions of clandestine bioweapon research.</p>
<p>The lab leak theory stands as an unfalsifiable allegation. If an investigation of the lab found no evidence of a leak, the scientists involved would simply be accused of hiding the relevant material. If not a conspiracy theory, it’s a theory requiring a conspiracy.</p>
<p>It provides a convenient vehicle for calls to limit, if not ban outright, gain-of-function research in which viruses with greatly different properties are created in labs. Whether or not SARS-CoV-2 originated in this manner is incidental.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-want-to-know-where-covid-came-from-but-its-too-soon-to-expect-miracles-172155">We want to know where COVID came from. But it’s too soon to expect miracles</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Wounds that may never be healed</h2>
<p>The acrid stench of xenophobia lingers over much of this discussion. Fervent dismissals by the Chinese scientists of anything untoward are blithely cast as lies.</p>
<p>Yet during this crucial period these same scientists were going to international conferences and welcoming visitors. Do we honestly believe they would have such a pathological disdain for the consequences of their actions?</p>
<p>The debate over the origins of COVID has opened wounds that may never be healed. It has armed a distrust in science and fuelled divisive political opinion. Individual scientists have been assigned the sins of their governments. </p>
<p>The incessant blame game and finger pointing has reduced the chances of finding viral origins even further. History won’t judge this period kindly.</p>
<p>Global collaboration is the bedrock of effective pandemic prevention, but we’re in danger of destroying rather than building relationships. We may even be less prepared for a pandemic than in 2019. Despite political barriers and a salivating media, the evidence for a natural animal origin for SARS-CoV-2 has increased over the past two years. To deny it puts us all at risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188163/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward C Holmes receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. He has received consultancy fees from Pfizer Australia and has held honorary appointments (for which he has received no renumeration and performed no duties) at the China CDC in Beijing and the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (Fudan University)</span></em></p>For the lab leak theory to be true, SARS-CoV-2 must have been present in the Wuhan Institute of Virology before the pandemic started. But there’s not a single piece of data suggesting this.Edward C Holmes, ARC Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1735792022-04-18T11:52:28Z2022-04-18T11:52:28ZHow blending Inuit knowledge and western science has helped improve polar bear health — and why a trade ban would hurt<p><em>Nanuk</em>, the Inuktitut word for polar bear, is an iconic animal, capturing public imaginations and starring in <a href="https://www.coca-colacompany.com/company/history/coca-colas-polar-bears">international marketing campaigns</a>. As nanuk has increasingly been used as the <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/polar-bears-and-climate-change">poster species for climate change</a>, it has also become separated in the popular imagination from the peoples and communities of the North. </p>
<p>Yet nanuk is a cultural keystone species that provides a sense of identity, spiritual connections, food, livelihoods and cultural continuity throughout Inuit homelands. Polar bears and Inuit continue to share the same lands, waters and ice. They regularly interact on the land during a harvest, and in communities, where <a href="https://fb.watch/bAIKoJqiY0/">nanuk can become a safety issue</a>. This relationship is a part of life in the North and Inuit carry generations of knowledge and science about polar bears. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fF5isyE18UQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Davis Strait Polar Bear during the summer season in the Torngat Mountains National Park.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are many conflicting views of nanuk. Inuit, researchers, conservationists and others have often been at odds with each other about how polar bear populations should be managed. </p>
<p>As Inuit who work within various co-management boards — public governance institutions that incorporate Inuit knowledge of wildlife and the environment into the decision-making of the provincial, territorial and federal governments — we have interpreted polar bear science, learned from Inuit knowledge and participated in many public policy discussions about nanuk. </p>
<h2>Taking care of nanuk</h2>
<p>Scientists divide the world’s polar bears into sub-populations, based on what is known about their genetics, movements and other management considerations. Thirteen of the world’s 19 sub-populations of polar bears are found in Canada, putting Canada at the <a href="https://www.polarbearscanada.ca/en">forefront of polar bear research, management, regulation and policy</a>. </p>
<p>Nearly 50 years ago, over-hunting was considered the largest threat to nanuk and international co-operation addressed this issue by placing restrictions on harvesting numbers — some voluntary and others imposed — and increasingly robust rules and regulations. The Government of Canada has collaborated with Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States on public policy since 1973, when these countries signed the <a href="https://polarbearagreement.org/index.php/about-us/1973-agreement">Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=686&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/459129/original/file-20220421-20-xe7de8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=862&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Davis Strait polar bear sub-population map and the three Inuit land claim regions of Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. (Cartography by Shawn Rivoire, Torngat Wildlife Plants and Fisheries Secretariat)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data sourced from Dyck, M et al. (2021) 'Re-estimating the abundance of the Davis Strait polar bear subpopulation by genetic mark-recapture. Final Report.'</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The negotiation of <a href="https://landclaimscoalition.ca/">land claim agreements starting in 1975</a>, led to the formal implementation of co-management processes across Northern Canada. We have experience on the co-management boards from three different Inuit land claim agreements: Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. </p>
<h2>Nanuk co-management</h2>
<p>Co-management boards are a shared and independent space where appointees from the federal, provincial, territorial governments and Inuit work with all the available knowledge to make, whenever possible, collaborative decisions about harvest levels and other management recommendations. </p>
<p>Through our work in the Eastern Arctic, representing the <a href="https://nlca.tunngavik.com/">Nunavut Agreement</a> (established 1993), the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-4.3/">Labrador Inuit Land Claim Agreement</a> (established 2005) and the <a href="https://www.makivik.org/corporate/history/nilca/">Nunavik Inuit Land Claims Agreement</a> (established 2008), we work directly and regularly on polar bears. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nwmb.com/en/">Nunavut Wildlife Management Board</a>, the <a href="https://nmrwb.ca/">Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board</a> and the <a href="https://www.torngatsecretariat.ca/home/">Torngat Wildlife and Plants Co-management Board</a> all have prominent roles in the management of the Davis Strait polar bear population. Simply put, these boards may decide on nanuk harvest levels. </p>
<p>Our organizations play an important role in national and international polar bear management and we bring strong and diverse sciences and knowledges to decision-making tables. We work together to share western science and Inuit knowledge to establish total allowable harvest levels and support polar bear and Inuit health and well-being. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457670/original/file-20220412-54572-z8jc37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=963&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Highlights of the Davis Strait polar bear survey results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://gov.nu.ca/fr/node/43414">(Data sourced from Dyck, M et al. (2021) 'Re-estimating the abundance of the Davis Strait polar bear subpopulation by genetic mark-recapture. Final Report.')</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The most <a href="https://nmrwb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NunavikInuitKnowledge_PolarBears_DavisStrait-1.pdf">recent information combining Inuit knowledge</a> and science on the Davis Strait polar bears indicates that the population levels have remained relatively stable over the past decade at approximately 2,000 animals. Their body conditions have also improved. Over this period, harvesting was also able to increase in this vast region to approximately 100 animals per year. This is a sign that Inuit and nanuk alike have benefited from the past decade of co-management and dialogue among Inuit and different levels of government. </p>
<h2>International intentions with unintended consequences</h2>
<p>Later this year, the Conference of the Parties for the <a href="https://cites.org/eng/cop19">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a> (CITES) will meet in Panama City, Panama. Potential proposals and decisions made there about nanuk could have serious consequences for Inuit.</p>
<p>CITES aims to ensure that the trade in wild animals does not threaten their survival. In 2010 and 2013, the United States brought forward proposals to the parties in Doha, Qatar and Bangkok, Thailand, which, had they been passed, <a href="https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2016/05/02/u-s-stops-trying-to-ban-trade-in-polar-bears-at-international-talks/">would have generally prohibited the export of valuable polar bears parts such as their skins</a>. International trade would have been permitted only in exceptional circumstances. </p>
<p>If successful, these CITES proposals would have had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.01.006">detrimental and wide-ranging impacts on Inuit culture, livelihoods and well-being</a>. They could have established a scenario similar to the results of the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/biodiversity/animal_welfare/seals/seal_hunting.htm">European ban on seal products</a> and the <a href="https://www.nfb.ca/film/angry_inuk/">tragic impacts on Inuit rights, livelihoods and well-being</a>. We should know by mid-June 2022 if the United States or another party to CITES plans to bring forward a new proposal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Inuit hunter wearing traditional trousers and boots made from polar bear fur is walking on the sea ice of the Melville Bay near Kullorsuaq in North Greenland. North America, danish territory. " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450221/original/file-20220306-85906-1f53wia.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Inuit hunter wearing traditional trousers and boots made from polar bear fur walks on the sea ice of Melville Bay near Kullorsuaq in North Greenland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AdobeStock/Danita Delimont)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Inuit culture changes over time. For Inuit today traditional values and activities are increasingly linked to globalization and the international economy through modernization, industrial pressures and the climate crisis. </p>
<p>Decisions made at far away <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.11.016">international conferences and through the influences of foreign geopolitics</a>, do not properly consult with Inuit or include Inuit knowledge. Local self-determination may be indirectly altered through new international proposals that may make co-management decisions moot if the policy context changes. </p>
<p>Inuit live with nanuk in their territories and are the primary users and stewards of this species. It is imperative that Inuit involvement in polar bear management remains strong and at the forefront of decisions to support self-determination and the principles of the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>This is our call to have Inuit land claim agreements and co-management boards respected by the Canadian government and championed at international forums such as CITES so the global public can be assured that nanuk are in good hands with Inuit stewardship. </p>
<p>The first step in this direction is the understanding on behalf of the scientific and biological communities that Inuit knowledge about nanuk is a deep and generational form of science and essential to be included at all levels of decision-making. </p>
<p>The negotiation of these governance structures in Canada took half a century and we are now many decades into their implementation. No one cares more about nanuk than Inuit, and Inuit will continue being experts in polar bear relationships. While including Inuit in national and international decision-making processes has improved, ensuring thriving polar bear and Inuit populations alike will require trust in co-management decision-making, Inuit self-determination and Inuit ways of being with nanuk. </p>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Jason Akearok, executive director of the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, and Tommy Palliser, executive director of the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173579/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The three co-management boards referenced in this article received funding from Polar Knowledge Canada for knowledge dissemination about the Davis Strait polar bears and to facilitate inter-jurisdictional and inter-disciplinary dialogues about this sub-population. </span></em></p>International proposals to ban the trade of polar bear parts undercut Inuit rights, knowledge and decision-making.Jamie Snook, Adjunct Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1734312022-01-11T14:04:36Z2022-01-11T14:04:36ZBig tech, regulators and conservationists must unite to tackle online wildlife trade<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436298/original/file-20211208-23-1isaz34.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Endangered Timneh parrots in illegal trade in West Africa</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rowan Martin/World Parrot Trust</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every month, Facebook attracts <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/">2.89 billion active users</a>. Every minute there are hundreds of thousands of comments and status updates. Each could be discussing anything, including extremist views, or the sale of endangered wildlife across continents.</p>
<p>Social media platforms have enabled wildlife traders to connect as never before. Some operate legally, within the boundaries of international laws. Others are less scrupulous. Illegal traders use private chats and groups to bypass middlemen and exchange information on how to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.counteringcrime.org/wildlife-sales-on-facebook&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1638946885951000&usg=AOvVaw3ud1CzV4kJBVIFL-whvAEk">evade law enforcement</a>. They use the ecosystem of public and private channels on social media platforms to sell wildlife as pets or luxury artefacts. Public posts enable traders to connect with a potentially vast global customer base, but arrangements for payments and shipping, and conversations about what else may be available, can be quickly directed to private messaging services. </p>
<p>Some platforms have introduced strong community standards prohibiting attempts to buy or sell endangered wildlife and private sales of live animals. But it takes only seconds to find, for example, endangered parrots for sale. Dig a little deeper and you can find posts featuring wholesale quantities of parrots captured from the wild for export, in what would be clear violations of international laws. </p>
<p>Tackling this is critical: the wildlife trade poses a major threat to global biodiversity. It can also contribute to the spread of infectious zoonotic (passed from animal to human) diseases.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cobi.13858">a recent study</a> published in the journal Conservation Biology, we examined the online behaviour of wildlife traders based in West Africa. We wanted to explore how researchers and moderators can use information scattered across different parts of social media platforms to detect posts selling wild birds. </p>
<p>Some of the trade we studied is permitted under international agreements. But its scale and scope, which is discussed in a forthcoming parallel study, has conservationists concerned. Trade in wild parrots from West Africa has also <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13214">been linked</a> to the global spread of infectious diseases. Some of the exporting countries in this study, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal among them, are working to contain <a href="https://www.fao.org/AG/againfo/programmes/en/empres/HPAI_Africa/situation_update.html">highly pathogenic strains</a> of avian influenza. </p>
<h2>Analysing the data</h2>
<p>Working with ornithologists, conservationists and legal analysts, we were able to identify over 80 different species in trade, some of which are highly threatened and prohibited from commercial trade under international law. Species ranged from parrots and hornbills to songbirds and doves. </p>
<p>We detected 400 social media posts made by known bird traders featuring or promoting birds in trade.</p>
<p>The majority (80%) did not contain explicit text that could be used to determine that the posts were intended to facilitate the sale of wildlife, violating platform community standards. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hundreds of small songbirds perched in rows in cramped conditions in a bare concrete room that is poorly lit" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440058/original/file-20220110-23-2kl2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">African songbirds in a holding facility in West Africa available for export.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">World Parrot Trust</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The application of simple algorithms searching for words such as “for sale”, or the names of target species, would help detect some of this activity. But admins in some closed Facebook groups have advised their members to avoid using certain key words. This means a significant amount of trade would pass under the radar of key word algorithms. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reptiles-one-in-three-species-traded-online-and-75-arent-protected-by-international-law-147122">Reptiles: one in three species traded online – and 75% aren't protected by international law</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, our research found that the triangulation of information available elsewhere both within and beyond social media platforms could be used to make powerful inferences about how posts facilitate trade, violate platform standards and signpost illicit activity. Such information may be found in elements such as images, profile descriptions or comments. This is why it’s important that experts be involved in monitoring social media for potentially illegal trade: they have the knowledge to identify the species involved and contextualise the activity within international and domestic regulations. </p>
<p>Different wildlife “products” are bought and sold in different locations online and in different ways. There is no “one size fits all” solution for detecting wildlife traded online, let alone all illicit and harmful goods. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-reasons-people-buy-illegal-wildlife-products-and-how-to-stop-them-145493">Five reasons people buy illegal wildlife products – and how to stop them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our study, however, establishes a framework for thinking about how different sectors of illicit or harmful activity can be understood and monitored and moderated more effectively. Careful analyses, led by experts in specific fields, can help in the design of algorithms and approaches to moderation tailored to the situation. </p>
<h2>Regulatory approaches</h2>
<p>Our study happened against the backdrop of major global discussions about how best to <a href="https://issuu.com/nyusterncenterforbusinessandhumanri/docs/nyu_content_moderation_report_final_version?fr=sZWZmZjI1NjI1Ng">regulate social media platforms</a>. New regulatory legislation is being planned or coming into play in major economies including <a href="https://merics.org/en/short-analysis/tech-regulation-china-brings-sweeping-changes">China</a>, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/technology/big-tech-antitrust-bills.html">US</a>, the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/045346cf-c28a-4f6f-9dce-4f8426129bf9">EU</a>, Australia and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-online-safety-bill">UK</a>, aimed at cajoling and coercing big tech to do more to protect users from harmful content. </p>
<p>Regulators are mindful of the need to balance the harms and benefits of the brave new world ushered in by social media. Designing moderation practices that make a meaningful impact on the vast amount of wildlife traded on the internet is no trivial undertaking. But it is clear that greater action is needed.</p>
<p>We propose that the solutions lie with tech firms working closely with subject matter experts to design moderation practices tailored to the trade in different species across regions. Regulators, tasked with determining if tech firms are fulfilling their duty of care (as proposed in the UK’s draft <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/534/draft-online-safety-bill-joint-committee/">Online Safety Bill</a>), should similarly engage with subject matter experts to ensure that tech firms’ approaches are fit for purpose.</p>
<p>Carefully designed algorithms that can intelligently triangulate across multiple data sources will be part of the solution. Manual analysis will also be critical. In our study, knowing which species were in trade and the relevant local legislation was critical for understanding legality. But such tasks lie beyond the abilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning. </p>
<p>Collaborations and partnerships between tech firms and subject matter experts remain in their infancy. But cleverly designed legislation, savvy regulators and investment from tech firms are needed to drive solutions forward at pace.</p>
<p><em>Alisa Davies, a wildlife trade specialist at the <a href="https://www.parrots.org/">World Parrot Trust</a>, contributed to this article and was a co-author of the research it is based on.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rowan O. Martin is Director of the World Parrot Trust’s Africa Conservation Programme and an Investigator with the Alliance to Counter Crime Online.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Hinsley received funding in 2012 from the UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for her PhD on the online wildlife trade.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ana Nuno does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social media platforms have enabled wildlife traders to connect as never before. Some operate legally, within the boundaries of international laws. Others are less scrupulous.Rowan O. Martin, Research Associate, Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape TownAmy Hinsley, Senior Research Fellow, University of OxfordAna Nuno, Research Fellow, Nova School of Business and EconomicsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732042021-12-07T20:19:29Z2021-12-07T20:19:29ZWildlife trade poses health threats to humans, but Chinese wildlife farms are profiting<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/435945/original/file-20211206-138695-16h9zx4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6689%2C4476&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">White raccoon dogs are prized for their unusual fur.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/wildlife-trade-poses-health-threats-to-humans--but-chinese-wildlife-farms-are-profiting" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In November 2021, scientists from various disciplines published a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109341">warning to humanity</a>” on wildlife trade because of the risk of “diseases transmitted from wildlife to humans.”</p>
<p>As COVID-19 swept across China last year, the Beijing government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/coronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry">closed the live-animal sections of numerous markets and shut down 20,000 wildlife farms across the country</a>. Unknown to the outside world, however, three-quarters of the sector’s value comes from <a href="https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/china/article/3064927/wildlife-ban/index.html">breeding animals for fur, traditional medicine and entertainment purposes</a>. Many of those wildlife farms <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/coronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry">are still in business</a>.</p>
<p>These wildlife farms have become a focal point in the search for the origins of COVID-19, and a touchy issue for the Chinese — so much so that Beijing barred <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-covid-bats-caves-hubei/2021/10/10/082eb8b6-1c32-11ec-bea8-308ea134594f_story.html">researchers, who were part of a mission organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), from visiting wildlife farms and bat caves in southern China</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-finally-made-us-recognise-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-is-a-public-health-issue-133673">Coronavirus has finally made us recognise the illegal wildlife trade is a public health issue</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Active sites</h2>
<p>In late 2020, researchers at the Belgium-based Humane Society International (HSI) <a href="https://www.hsi.org/news-media/fur-farm-investigation-reveals-distressed-foxes-raccoon-dogs-electrocuted-in-agony-and-fur-farm-carcasses-sold-for-human-consumption/">visited 13 fur farms across China</a>. The researchers found that not only were animals still being killed, but that <a href="https://www.hsi.org/news-media/fur-farm-investigation-reveals-distressed-foxes-raccoon-dogs-electrocuted-in-agony-and-fur-farm-carcasses-sold-for-human-consumption/">no measures were being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19</a>:</p>
<p>“The fur farms we visited did not follow health and safety regulations,” says Wendy Higgins, director of international media at HSI. “Epidemic control rules were breached and our investigators were welcomed to the farms without having to follow basic biosecurity measures like disinfection stations at entry and exit points, wearing safety clothing, and having a quarantine area for ill animals,” says Higgins.</p>
<p>In March 2021, the WHO concluded that the novel coronavirus was most likely transmitted to humans through an “intermediary” rather than through <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/origins-of-the-virus">direct infection by bats, packaged food or a laboratory accident</a>. </p>
<p>The WHO researchers identified mink, civets and raccoon dogs as possible “<a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/origins-of-the-virus">intermediary host species</a>,” with mink being “highly susceptible” to COVID-19. While the focus so far has been on the risk posed by humans consuming meat from these animals, the WHO report notes that direct contact with infected animals or their body waste can also spread the virus.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/origin-of-the-covid-19-virus-the-trail-of-mink-farming-155989">Origin of the Covid-19 virus: the trail of mink farming</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Livestock or wildlife?</h2>
<p>Concerns about these animals’ role in spreading COVID-19 have been fuelled by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe3870">outbreaks at 431 mink fur farms across Europe and North America</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hsi.org/news-media/denmark-calls-for-total-mink-cull-on-all-fur-farms-amidst-covid-19-infections/">Denmark</a> <a href="https://www.ciwf.eu/news/2020/09/white-smoke-from-warsaw-poland-set-to-ban-fur-farming">and Poland</a>, the world’s top two fur-producing countries after China, have temporarily banned mink farming because of COVID-19 concerns. British Columbia will <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8353156/bc-mink-farm-industry-update/">phase out mink farming by 2025</a>, and France <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20211118-france-approves-tough-new-laws-targeting-animal-cruelty-banning-wild-animal-entertainments">recently banned mink farming</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gy-iUROpXfo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">B.C. plans to end mink farming by 2025.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>China farmed an estimated <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/stop-the-illegal-wildlife-trade/covid-fur-farms-china-b1855584.html">14 million foxes, 13.5 million raccoon dogs and 11.6 million mink in 2019</a>. But rather than ban fur farming, the Chinese government classified <a href="http://forestry.gov.cn/bwwz/2784/20200513/085630366321198.html">mink, foxes and raccoons as livestock</a>, explicitly excluding them from the wildlife ban.</p>
<p>“Virologists are concerned the virus can lay dormant at fur farms. The virus is capable of mutating so as we develop vaccines, new variants can emerge that are resistant. To leave such a potential threat untouched, just to boost the world of fashion, seems a far too great risk,” says Higgins.</p>
<p>In May 2020, Chinese authorities <a href="https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2020/05-16/9186245.shtml">offered buyouts to farmers who raise wildlife for food</a>, but the same incentive was not offered to fur farmers. Recent data is hard to come by, but in 2016, fur farming was valued at an <a href="https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/china/article/3064927/wildlife-ban/index.html">estimated 389 billion Chinese yuan (US$55 billion), as opposed to only 125 billion yuan (US$17 billion) for wildlife food production</a>.</p>
<h2>Luxury and profits</h2>
<p>As a result of the closure of fur farms in other parts of the world, Chinese producers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-mink-idUSKBN28D0PV">experienced a price hike of 30 per cent</a> in December 2020. </p>
<p>Wildlife is considered a luxury product affordable only to a small but <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/8_Felbab-Brown_China_final.pdf">growing segment of consumers</a>. A World Wildlife Fund survey found that <a href="https://globescan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/WWF-GlobeScan-COVID19_One_Year_Later-Highlights_Report-May2021.pdf">in China, 10 per cent of respondents had purchased wild animals at an open market in 2019</a>. </p>
<p>Worryingly, scientists found that banning wildlife markets has “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110439">not discouraged online wildlife trade</a>.”</p>
<p>Besides food and fur, wild animal parts are also used in traditional Chinese medicine, a growing market actively promoted by the government. Chinese consumers were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/26/its-against-nature-illegal-wildlife-trade-casts-shadow-over-traditional-chinese-medicine-aoe">expected to spend US$420 billion annually on these items by the end of 2020</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="older women sit in front of a window display of a traditional Chinese medicine shop" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/436039/original/file-20211207-141178-gta8uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A group of women sit in front of a window display of a traditional Chinese medicine shop. The growing demand for traditional Chinese medicine has fed the legal and illegal trade in exotic animal parts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>China legalized the use of <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/wildlife-watch-news-china-rhino-tiger-legal">rhino horn and tiger bone in traditional medicine in 2018</a>. It went further last year with a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/beijing-draws-up-plans-to-outlaw-criticism-of-traditional-chinese-medicine">law criminalizing any public criticism of traditional medicine</a>. More recently, the government started <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/chinese-government-promotes-bear-bile-as-coronavirus-covid19-treatment">promoting the use of traditional medicine to cure COVID-19</a> without any evidence to that effect.</p>
<h2>Mitigation and policy</h2>
<p>The government’s policy towards wildlife farming echoes its actions during the SARS outbreak in 2003. It initially <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(06)70676-4">shut down wildlife markets</a> when the disease was traced to animals, but after two years, enforcement “<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/8_Felbab-Brown_China_final.pdf">lessened as the wildlife trade industry lobbied against it and pointed out the economic and job contributions to the country</a>.” </p>
<p>The WHO continues its search for the definitive origin of COVID-19. It recently announced the formation of a <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/public-notice-and-comment-on-proposed-new-scientific-advisory-group-for-the-origins-of-novel-pathogens-(sago)-members">scientific advisory group to further the investigation</a>, and has <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/origins-of-the-virus">recommended conducting “targeted surveys of fur farms” as one line of inquiry</a>.</p>
<p>Despite close encounters with Ebola, SARS-CoV-1, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and H1N1, and decades of warnings from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2020.2652">infectious diseases specialists</a>, stricter regulation and additional mitigation strategies are needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anrike Visser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In China, the wildlife trade is thriving, driven by the increased demands for luxury goods and traditional medicine. But there is real concern about the threat of diseases that can cross over to humans.Anrike Visser, Dalla Lana Global Journalism Fellow, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1676172021-11-03T12:29:25Z2021-11-03T12:29:25ZPreventing future pandemics starts with recognizing links between human and animal health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427568/original/file-20211020-19033-hhgo6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C6%2C2008%2C1526&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Disturbing the habitats of horseshoe bats, like these in Borneo, increases the risk of virus spillover.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/nhwHdN">Mike Prince/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that zoonotic diseases – infections that pass from animals to humans – can present tremendous threats to global health. More than 70% of emerging and reemerging pathogens <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/07/09/qa-how-preventing-zoonotic-diseases-can-help-curb-covid-19-and-other-infectious-diseases">originate from animals</a>. That probably includes the SARS CoV-2 virus, which scientists <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abh0117">widely believe originated in bats</a>. </p>
<p>There are still questions about specifically where the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged. But experts across the globe agree that communities can take steps to reduce the risk of future spillovers. A key is for veterinarians, doctors and scientists to work together, recognizing how closely connected human health is with that of animals and of the habitats that we share – an approach known as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/index.html">One Health</a>.</p>
<p>To prevent new pandemics, scientists need to identify specific locations where viruses are most likely to make the jump from animals to humans. In turn, this requires understanding how human behaviors – from deforestation to fossil fuel combustion to conflict to cultural activities – contribute to spillover risks. </p>
<p>We focus on <a href="https://vetprofiles.tufts.edu/profile/deborah-t-kochevar/">global One Health research and education</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Guilherme-Werneck">epidemiology of infectious diseases</a>, and we served on a science task force convened by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Global Health Institute to evaluate current knowledge of how to prevent spillovers. The <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2343/2021/08/PreventingPandemicsAug2021.pdf">task force report</a> noted that a <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.1126/science.abc3189">recent analysis</a> estimates the costs of addressing spillover at high-risk interfaces through One Health approaches and forest conservation at US$22 billion to $31 billion per year. These costs are dwarfed by the estimated global <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-economic-outlook/volume-2021/issue-1_edfbca02-en">GDP loss of nearly $4 trillion</a> in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>In our view, coordinated investment based on a One Health approach is needed to initiate and sustain global prevention strategies and avoid the devastating costs of pandemic response.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Infographic naming specialties that contribute to One Health." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427570/original/file-20211020-19-1cj0tz0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One Health is a strategy that seeks to build bridges connecting physicians, veterinarians, environmental scientists, public health professionals and other specialists to protect the health of all species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/images/social-media/one-health-involves-everyone-fb-tw.jpg">CDC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Recognizing risky zones</h2>
<p>Identifying high-risk areas for zoonotic spillover is challenging. People and wildlife move around a lot, and exposure may not lead immediately to infection or produce symptoms that clearly reflect exposure to pathogens. </p>
<p>But researchers can make predictions by combining data on human and livestock density with that on environmental conditions, such as deforestation and land use changes, that can enable pathogens to spread from wildlife to humans. For instance, there are areas in China, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh where development has fragmented forests and extended animal farming and human communities near the natural habitats of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/horseshoe-bat">horseshoe bats</a>. This group of bats, which includes more than 100 species, has been implicated as a reservoir for many coronaviruses. </p>
<p>It’s not uncommon for bat-borne diseases to spill over to humans. Sometimes it happens directly: For example, bats in Bangladesh have repeatedly transmitted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2000429117">Nipah virus</a> to humans. Or the pathogen can move indirectly via intermediate hosts. For example, in 1994 bats in Australia infected horses with Hendra virus, a respiratory disease that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1602.090780">then passed to humans</a>.</p>
<p>In Brazil, yellow fever is endemic in the jungles, spread mainly between monkeys via mosquitoes. People in the country occasionally contract it from mosquito bites, and deforestation and land conversion for farming are increasing the risk of greater spillovers. There is rising concern that the disease could be introduced into Brazil’s large cities, where <em>Aedes aegypti</em> mosquitoes are widespread and could <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05186-3">transmit it on a large scale</a>. </p>
<p>There also are specific human behaviors that may further increase the risk of spillovers. They include work that puts humans in direct contact with or near animals, such as <a href="https://www.batcon.org/article/guano-bats-gift-to-gardeners/">harvesting bat guano (dung) for fertilizer</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-coronavirus-emerged-from-the-global-wildlife-trade-and-may-be-devastating-enough-to-end-it-133333">buying and selling wild animals or animal parts</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OJjZX9iINPk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Tropical deforestation, wildlife trade and raising livestock near forest edges are thought to be major drivers of zoonotic disease spillover.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Daily routines related to storing food and eating wildlife meat can also create risks. For example, Ebola virus outbreaks in Nigeria have been associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-020-00619-8">butchering and eating bushmeat</a>. </p>
<p>People in areas with a high risk of spillover don’t need to stop living their lives. But they do need to recognize that some actions are more risky than others and take appropriate safety precautions, such as wearing protective equipment and making sure that bushmeat is properly handled and cooked.</p>
<h2>The importance of teamwork</h2>
<p>In our view, it is essential for researchers and governments to understand and embrace the central concept that the health of animals, people and the environment is closely connected, and factors that affect one can affect all. Ideally, problem-solving teams form that address prevention from the community and district levels to the ranks of health, animal and environmental ministries.</p>
<p>Members of local communities are most likely to know where people run the highest risk of coming in contact with animals that may carry infectious diseases. By listening to them, veterinary and medical health professionals, as well as foresters and land managers, can develop strategies that are more likely to decrease the risk of spillover.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Technician in protective suit takes blood sample from a camel." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428587/original/file-20211026-19-1mcpdvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Camels infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can pass the virus to humans through direct or indirect contact. Since 2012 MERS has killed more than 800 people in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Testing is an important tool for detecting infected animals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/Y67Jos">Awadh Mohammed Ba Saleh, CDC Global/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Organizations such as the <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TTB3.pdf">U.S. Agency for International Development</a>, the <a href="https://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/1418052/">Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations</a>, <a href="https://www.health.go.ug/cause/uganda-one-health-strategic-plan-2018-2022/">national governments</a> and <a href="https://onehealthbd.org/">civil society groups</a> are investing in One Health platforms across selected countries in Africa and Asia. These networks are typically anchored in government ministries. They can also include nongovernmental organizations and civil society groups committed to advancing health and well-being through a One Health framework.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 115,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>For example, many countries have separate databases to track infectious disease outbreaks in humans and animals. Connecting these systems across government ministries and agencies can improve information exchange between them and lead to better understanding of spillover risks. </p>
<p>We believe that preparing for the next pandemic must include preventing it at its source. Our best chance to succeed is to coordinate research and design of spillover interventions, recognizing that the health of humans, animals and nature are connected.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167617/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Kochevar receives funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. She is a member of the boards of Charles River Laboratories and Elanco, a pharmaceutical company that produces medicines and vaccinations for pets and livestock. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Guilherme Werneck receives funding from The Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) and the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support in the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ). </span></em></p>How can nations prevent more pandemics like COVID-19? One priority is reducing the risk of diseases’ jumping from animals to humans. And that means understanding how human actions fuel that risk.Deborah Kochevar, Professor of Comparative Pathobiology and Dean Emerita, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine; Senior Fellow, The Fletcher School, Tufts UniversityGuilherme Werneck, Professor of Epidemiology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1697452021-10-12T17:19:15Z2021-10-12T17:19:15ZChina’s wildlife food ban is vital for public health and threatened species – our research reveals what must happen next<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425913/original/file-20211012-13-tqj2w3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C404%2C5000%2C2836&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/animal-market-city-shenzhen-north-hongkong-1655975449">Amnat30/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>World leaders are attending an online summit to discuss the future of life on Earth. With one million species <a href="https://theconversation.com/revolutionary-change-needed-to-stop-unprecedented-global-extinction-crisis-116166">threatened with extinction</a> this century, the UN biodiversity conference, <a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15">known as COP15</a>, is supposed to yield a new global plan for protecting nature. The host nation, China, has committed to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01563-2">protect</a> more of its land for nature. But one of the most radical and far-reaching measures introduced by the Chinese government in recent years came at the beginning of the pandemic.</p>
<p>COVID-19 has shown the <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-finally-made-us-recognise-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-is-a-public-health-issue-133673">risk to human health</a> posed by the trade in and consumption of wildlife. To strengthen the protection of wildlife and to reduce the risk of zoonotic viruses spilling over into human populations, China issued a ban on eating wild meat and the related trade in February 2020. This targeted the illegal wildlife trade and poaching, but also the legal farming and selling of terrestrial wildlife for food – from snakes to bamboo rats – which previously was possible through a complex system of licences. </p>
<p>It still allows people to eat certain species, such as sika deer, which are farmed according to established techniques and pose a low risk to human health. The ban doesn’t apply to wild aquatic species, such as fish. Nor does it cover other uses of wildlife, such as rearing species for medicinal purposes or as pets.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-a-blanket-ban-on-wildlife-trade-would-not-be-the-right-response-135746">Critics</a> argue that improved regulation, rather than an outright ban, would be a better solution, maintaining the benefits of the trade for local communities while reducing pressure on wild populations and health risks. But for that to work, the Chinese state would need to manage the wildlife trade. And our research, <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)31888-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982220318881%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">published in Current Biology</a>, revealed that China’s existing laws and regulations covering the wildlife trade are insufficient. </p>
<p>The ban, then, is a useful, short-term stop gap, but must now be backed up by updated, evidence-based legislation and regulation for the future.</p>
<p>The 2020 ban aimed to close loopholes in existing legislation, such as China’s Wildlife Protection Law, which was last amended in 2016 and is being <a href="https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/news/2020/11/wildlife-group-submits-suggestions-for-law-revision">revised again now</a>. This law legalised and regulated the wildlife trade through a complex license system. Before the ban, most wildlife species could be farmed and traded for different purposes legally as long as a license had been granted.</p>
<p>Troublingly, there was no evidence-based framework for establishing which species could be farmed and traded and which couldn’t. This meant that species which were potential vectors of zoonotic diseases, or declining in the wild, could still slip through the regulatory net and be farmed and traded legally. There was also little collaboration between the different government departments responsible for supervising the trade in wildlife, such as those covering forestry, markets and agriculture.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A ferret-like mammal peers through the mesh of a wire cage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425907/original/file-20211012-25-o3go5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Before the ban, China’s management of the wild meat trade lacked coherence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-palm-civet-animal-who-produce-143329990https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-palm-civet-animal-who-produce-143329990">Saiko3p/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A booming business</h2>
<p>At the beginning of 2018, the Chinese government began promoting the farming of wildlife as a means of reducing rural poverty. The state offered loans and broadcast programmes about successful wildlife farmers on Chinese television to entice more people into joining the industry. Official state and provincial licenses granted for the trade in and farming of wildlife trebled between 2017 and 2019. But the number of criminal cases related to the illegal hunting or trade in wildlife increased over the same period too, suggesting the system was unable to control unlawful practices in the industry.</p>
<p>There were also problems with the licenses granted lawfully. We looked at 13,121 trade licenses granted by state and provincial Forestry Bureaus between 2001 and 2020. Under these licenses, 254 species were traded legally for different commercial purposes, of which 69 – including masked palm civets, red deer and common buzzards – have been identified as possible hosts or vectors for at least one zoonotic disease.</p>
<p>Equally troublesome was the pre-ban legislation’s approach to quarantine. The law required all wildlife to be quarantined before entering a market, but the official methods suggested for doing this were patchy at best. There were protocols in place for domestic species, such as pigs. But while some similar wild species, such as boar, could be quarantined under the protocols for related domestic animals, no rules were in place for widely-traded species such as bamboo rats, palm civets or porcupines. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two grey and furry rodents hang from green rope." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/425906/original/file-20211012-15-1q7fxqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bamboo rat meat is a popular commodity among China’s poor traders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lesser-bamboo-rat-on-rope-north-1582448146">Gerardo C.Lerner/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Under the ban, only a limited number of species can be farmed, depending on whether quarantine standards are available and whether farming techniques are cost-effective and safe enough for wild populations and human health.</p>
<p>To safely govern the trade in wildlife in the future, quarantine protocols for different species must be informed by the latest scientific evidence. Licensing and tracing – perhaps by introducing microchipping – of legitimately farmed animals should also vary according to each species and what evidence suggests is most likely to reduce the risk to human health and the conservation of species in the wild. And there must be closer collaboration between government departments and farmers and traders, both within China and internationally.</p>
<p>But it is also important to reduce the demand for wildlife as food in China. While COVID-19 has highlighted the potential risks of trading and eating wildlife, these lessons must extend to trading and farming wildlife for other purposes, such as medicine and pets.</p>
<p>Evidence-based changes to the way China manages its wildlife trade could help inspire and inform policies at COP15, especially among the leaders of developing countries facing a similar situation at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169745/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lingyun Xiao was a scientific consultant for Shanshui Conservation Center. She is currently member of the IUCN Caprinae Specialist Group, and steering committee member of the international Snow Leopard Network.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Binbin Li does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We analysed the legal systems regulating the wildlife trade in China. Here’s what we found.Lingyun Xiao, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool UniversityBinbin Li, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Duke Kunshan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1554072021-02-18T16:04:13Z2021-02-18T16:04:13ZWe need a green recovery after COVID-19, but banning wildlife trade could do more harm than good<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384478/original/file-20210216-23-19i7ky8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=73%2C59%2C2239%2C1454&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Habitat destruction is the greatest threat to wild species globally.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bruno Kelly </span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After several early cases of COVID-19 were <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2012-7">linked to a wet market</a> in China, wildlife trade became central to discussions about links between public health and nature. </p>
<p><a href="https://endthetrade.com/">Some groups</a> called for a complete ban on the consumption and trade of wildlife, with governments such as <a href="https://www.iccs.org.uk/blog/chinas-announcement-wildlife-trade-whats-new-and-what-does-it-mean">China</a> and <a href="https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14625/Has-Vietnam-banned-the-wildlife-trade-to-curb-the-risk-of-future-pandemics.aspx">Vietnam</a> acting decisively to introduce large-scale prohibitions.</p>
<p>The pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus. It’s drawn public attention to links between environmental and human health, and led to calls for a “<a href="https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/en/themes/green-recovery">green recovery</a>” that puts the environment at the heart of post-pandemic stimulus packages.</p>
<p>But the more pervasive environmental and health risks from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00923-8">animal agriculture</a> – which would probably replace wild meat – have received little attention. My colleagues and I conducted <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00144-5">a study</a> to investigate the risks of removing wild meat from global food systems. Our results indicate large-scale prohibitions on wildlife use could have negative consequences for nature and human health.</p>
<h2>Animal agriculture</h2>
<p>While some wildlife trade drives biodiversity loss and increases the risks from emerging infectious diseases, these pale in comparison to the effects of animal agriculture.</p>
<p>Wildlife trade has been implicated in deadly disease outbreaks such as <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/303/5656/387.abstract?casa_token=ZD6IQMDPPSoAAAAA:LIIVBRR8_rL4MzlIlWnB99vwHyjn0GDcsEz47xNWTJPG1FOhJwz6AIXwo0Qarrlyt0Jyg_E_U5u1J8SL">Ebola</a> and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rstb.2004.1492?casa_token=KMdsJewLMJwAAAAA%3AAI3MKMUTUYWezmiJmMBhkEm-XycvbUezEiTfYqU7_JCd99L7OJnDMk_5Aq-ikwinXJy2gzV6ivBCYyHG&">Sars</a>, with <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/parasitology/fulltext/S1471-4922(16)30010-1">primates, bats and carnivores</a> being high-risk species. But global analyses of emerging infectious diseases show that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00923-8">land-use changes</a>, especially <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3666729/">for agriculture</a>, are the most significant drivers of zoonotic outbreaks – diseases spread from animals to humans. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0293-3">More than half</a> of zoonotic diseases are associated with agricultural expansion and intensification.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A barren, deforested landscape, with cows roaming." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384711/original/file-20210217-15-1u5phxa.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Over 13,000 species are currently threatened by agricultural land clearing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bruno Kelly</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Human expansion into natural areas carries a greater risk of diseases crossing from wildlife into livestock or people, because of greater proximity between the two. Most zoonoses – <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/zoonoses">germs that spread between animals and people</a> -– are transmitted <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05775">through livestock</a>. Declines in diverse natural ecosystems <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/6/1/11">help the spread</a> of these germs. Intensive animal farming creates perfect conditions for the development of virulent strains with pandemic potential, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971219303273">animal influenzas</a> like bird flu and swine flu.</p>
<p>While roughly <a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/biodiversity/preserving-global-biodiversity-agricultural-improvements/">3,000 species</a> are threatened by direct exploitation (hunting and fishing), wildlife trade is not all bad. Some forms of well-managed wildlife trade can be good for nature – <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/prog/Livelihoods/case_studies/IUCN_CITES%20Fact%20Sheets%202019_Mexico%20Big%20Horn%20Sheep_web_rev1.pdf">bighorn sheep in Mexico</a> and <a href="https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/prog/Livelihoods/case_studies/CITES_livelihoods_Fact_Sheet_2019_Australia_Crocodiles.pdf">crocodiles in Australia</a> are two examples of this. In some cases, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/10/wild-deer-set-to-wreak-havoc-in-uk-woodlands-as-venison-demand-plunges">wild deer in the UK</a>, wildlife trade can be a fundamental part of ecosystem management.</p>
<p>On the other hand, habitat destruction and degradation driven by agricultural expansion is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22900">the greatest threat</a> to wild species globally. Over <a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/biodiversity/preserving-global-biodiversity-agricultural-improvements/">13,000 species</a> are threatened by agricultural land clearing and degradation alone, with future global food production on course to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00656-5https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00656-5">drive huge wildlife losses by 2050</a>.</p>
<h2>Unintended consequences</h2>
<p>A narrow focus on wildlife trade may do more than just distract from more pressing concerns. Our study found it could create further risks for nature and human health.</p>
<p>Wildlife is an important food source in many parts of the world, including <a href="https://www.conservationvisions.com/sites/default/files/WHI-MoreInfoDocs/state_of_knowledge_report_-_consumption_patterns_of_wild_protein_in_north_america.pdf">North America</a>, <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/108/34/13931.short">sub-Saharan Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3053079/chinese-frog-breeders-call-help-wildlife-trade-ban-shuts-down-business">China</a>. Heavy-handed restrictions on its use will leave a “nutrition gap” (reduced supply of important nutrients, such as protein and B vitamins). This gap will either be filled, most likely by increased production of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00676-1">domestic livestock</a>, or people will go hungry. Both scenarios could exacerbate environmental and human health risks.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man carrying a deer tied up in ropes, a man sitting at a wooden bench in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384712/original/file-20210217-23-193l53h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The costs of halting wild meat consumption will simply be too high for many people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kofi Amponsah-Mensah</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since animal agriculture is a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00923-8">major driver</a> of biodiversity loss and emerging infectious diseases risk, any increases in domestic livestock production may have serious consequences for nature and public health. For example, we conservatively estimate that over 450 million kilograms of protein would be needed each year to replace wild meat consumption globally.</p>
<p>This would need more than <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00144-5">124,000km² of extra agricultural land</a> globally (that’s more than 23 million football pitches - an area almost the size of Greece). This could drive <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00144-5">hundreds of species towards extinction</a>, particularly in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and the US. This may also increase the risk of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00923-8">emerging infectious diseases</a>, which would be highest in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00923-8">biodiverse forests</a> – which includes many of the countries where wild meat bans could lead to highest levels of agricultural expansion.</p>
<p>But if wild meat was not replaced by livestock, millions of people could be left without enough food. Estimated per capita protein intake could <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(21)00144-5">fall below healthy levels in several countries</a>, which could increase the prevalence of chronic health issues <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/108/49/19653">related to malnutrition</a>. This harsh reality, and limited viable alternatives, mean the costs of halting wild meat consumption will simply be too high for many people.</p>
<p>Previous experiences in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795361730758X">West Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/110/22/9177.short">Vietnam</a> suggest prohibitions can lead to the creation of informal networks of wild animal trade, with poorer monitoring and higher public health risks than legal trade.</p>
<h2>Ways forward</h2>
<p>A truly green recovery, which can save wildlife and prevent future pandemics, requires broader scrutiny of global food systems. This should include risk-based regulation of wildlife trade and a change in the agricultural sector.</p>
<p>Taking care of environmental and human health requires all of us to change <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/21/global-food-industry-to-drive-rapid-habitat-loss-research">what we eat and how it’s produced</a> - especially with reductions in meat consumption in wealthy countries. Rather than acting as a cue for more scapegoating of those who hunt and eat wildlife, this is the urgent need that COVID-19 underlines.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hollie Booth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The pandemic has brought humanity’s strained relationship with nature into sharp focus.Hollie Booth, PhD Candidate, Conservation Science, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1471222020-09-29T15:06:06Z2020-09-29T15:06:06ZReptiles: one in three species traded online – and 75% aren’t protected by international law<p>Rhinos, tigers, pangolins – we’re used to hearing about the mammals that are snatched from the wild so that their body parts can be sold. But did you know that you can buy and sell 36% of all known reptile species over the internet? That’s more than one in three species, including the endangered <a href="http://speciesstatus.sanbi.org/assessment/last-assessment/43/">speckled tortoise</a> (the world’s smallest species of tortoise) and the <a href="http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Archaius&species=tigris">Seychelles tiger chameleon</a>. </p>
<p>Reptiles are consistently overlooked by trade regulations. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is the world’s mechanism for protecting wildlife in global markets. This global agreement is supposed to regulate the trade of species to prevent them being overexploited, but <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18523-4">a new study</a> has revealed that more than 75% of reptiles traded online are species that are not covered by CITES. And as the online trade has grown, even reptiles protected by CITES are being taken from their natural habitats and sold to buyers around the world.</p>
<p>Reptiles are mostly traded for two reasons. In the fashion industry, their skins are made into leather. Reptile skins are what CITES mostly records, as this trade happens on a commercial scale. Thousands of skins of crocodiles, in particular, but lizards and snakes too, are shipped around the world to make boots, purses, and watch straps among other things. Much less well documented, according to the new study, which I have also found in my <a href="https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/1243/805">own research</a>, is the smaller scale trade in individual reptiles for “personal” use, like the pet trade.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman wearing a fur coat holds a brown crocodile skin handbag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360536/original/file-20200929-18-oacw5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reptile skin is commonly used in expensive luxury goods, like designer handbags.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/milan-february-21-woman-hermes-brown-1055313779">Andersphoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Scaling back the trade</h2>
<p>At first, it may not seem that the sale of one reptile here and there presents a problem. But the wildlife trade is a global phenomenon. The tens, if not hundreds of thousands of individual sales of reptiles taking place around the world every year add up. The result is that small populations of reptiles – some of which only live in one particular place – are threatened with extinction. The demand for rare and unique companion animals helps fuel this.</p>
<p>Farming reptiles, or breeding them in captivity, is often touted as a solution, but this approach has its own problems. </p>
<p>Captive breeding has been a source of illegal activity in the past. Businesses that were supposedly breeding reptiles in large quantities to meet demand were found to likely have been taking them <a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/6060/adding-up-the-numbers.pdf">from the wild instead</a>. This kind of laundering is difficult to control unless there are robust practices in place to trace reptiles all the way from source to final purchase.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/captive-breeding-has-a-dark-side-as-disturbing-czech-discovery-of-trafficked-tiger-body-parts-highlights-107371">Captive breeding has a dark side – as disturbing Czech discovery of trafficked tiger body parts highlights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Captive breeding in the reptile trade also has horrible consequences for animal welfare. As colleagues and I have <a href="https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/article/view/1243/805">argued</a>, the reptile leather industry is extraordinarily cruel. Animals are often kept in unhygienic conditions and slaughter is usually done while the reptile is conscious. That means many animals are skinned while still alive.</p>
<p>The pet industry is little better. Reptiles are crammed into small boxes and flown as cargo all over the world, enduring days without food and water and in fluctuating temperatures. There is no guarantee that they will be better kept once they arrive at their new home. </p>
<p>The biggest demand for pet reptiles is in Europe and North America. This is an important and often overlooked point: advertising the harm that the exotic pet trade causes could help reduce demand where it is greatest.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Baby terrapins scramble over each other in a shallow tub." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360540/original/file-20200929-20-tuyjll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reptiles are flown thousands of miles to homes where they may be mistreated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-tortoises-on-pet-market-above-1723341676">Dogora Sun/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new research illuminates some of the areas where our understanding is most limited. We known that many reptiles are sold as ingredients in medicines for example, but we know almost nothing about the scale of this trade. This requires investigation, as does the role of social media – including Facebook and WhatsApp – in supporting the buying and selling of reptiles and other wildlife. </p>
<p>The new study also raises an alternative to the way the wildlife trade is currently regulated. What if no trade was the default starting point? Trade would only take place if there was sufficient evidence to show that it would not harm the survival of the species. This precautionary approach would address the lack of data for many species and also potentially simplify customs checks. </p>
<p>It’s time to rethink how this trade is regulated, and our relationship to wildlife altogether.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya Wyatt receives funding from the Scottish Government. She has received funding in the past from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Reptiles are consistently overlooked by regulators of the trade in wildlife, but many face extinction in the wild.Tanya Wyatt, Professor of Criminology, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1396452020-06-25T12:35:23Z2020-06-25T12:35:23ZHow deforestation helps deadly viruses jump from animals to humans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343503/original/file-20200623-188911-16eqf9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3104%2C2134&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pangolins have been found with covonaviruses that are genetically similar to the one afflicting humans today.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/zimbabwe-game-reserve-guide-matius-mhambe-holds-marimba-a-news-photo/610214710">Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus pandemic, suspected of originating in bats and pangolins, has brought the risk of viruses that jump from wildlife to humans into stark focus.</p>
<p>These leaps often happen at the edges of the world’s tropical forests, where deforestation is increasingly bringing people into contact with animals’ natural habitats. Yellow fever, malaria, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, Ebola – all of these pathogens have spilled over from one species to another at the margins of forests.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://id.medicine.ufl.edu/profile/vittor-amy/">doctors</a> and <a href="http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K4167488J6">biologists</a> <a href="http://buscatextual.cnpq.br/buscatextual/visualizacv.do?id=K4727511E6&idiomaExibicao=2">specializing in infectious diseases</a>, we have studied these and other zoonoses as they spread in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We found that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0125">deforestation has been a common theme</a>.</p>
<p>More than half of the world’s tropical deforestation is driven by four commodities: beef, soy, palm oil and wood products. They replace mature, biodiverse tropical forests with monocrop fields and pastures. As the forest is degraded piecemeal, animals still living in isolated fragments of natural vegetation struggle to exist. When human settlements encroach on these forests, human-wildlife contact can increase, and new opportunistic animals may also migrate in.</p>
<p>The resulting disease spread shows the interconnectedness of natural habitats, the animals that dwell within it, and humans.</p>
<h2>Yellow fever: Monkeys, humans and hungry mosquitoes</h2>
<p>Yellow fever, a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes, famously halted progress on the Panama Canal in the 1900s and shaped the history of Atlantic coast cities from Philadelphia to Rio de Janeiro. Although a yellow fever vaccine has been available since the 1930s, the disease continues to afflict 200,000 people a year, a third of whom die, mostly in West Africa. </p>
<p>The virus that causes it lives in primates and is spread by mosquitoes that tend to dwell high in the canopy where these primates live.</p>
<p>In the early 1990s, a yellow fever outbreak was <a href="http://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.644">reported for the first time in the Kerio Valley in Kenya</a>, where deforestation had fragmented the forest. Between 2016 and 2018, <a href="https://www.who.int/csr/don/09-march-2018-yellow-fever-brazil/en/">South America saw its largest number of yellow fever cases in decades</a>, resulting in around 2,000 cases, and hundreds of deaths. The impact was severe in the extremely vulnerable Atlantic forest of Brazil – a biodiversity hotspot that has <a href="https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Giorgi-F07-fieldreport-FIN.pdf">shrunk to 7%</a> of its original forest cover. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343340/original/file-20200622-55017-1f4z10r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Veterinarians inspect monkeys found dead in Brazil, where primates are suspected of spreading yellow fever.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/veterinarians-examine-dead-monkeys-at-the-municipal-news-photo/916257726">Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Shrinking habitat has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23089">shown to concentrate howler monkeys</a> – one of the main South American yellow fever hosts. A study on primate density in Kenya further demonstrated that forest fragmentation led a greater density of primates, which in turn <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01481.x">led to pathogens becoming more prevalent</a>. </p>
<p>Deforestation resulted in patches of forest that both concentrated the primate hosts and favored the mosquitoes that could transmit the virus to humans. </p>
<h2>Malaria: Humans can also infect wildlife</h2>
<p>Just as wildlife pathogens can jump to humans, humans can cross-infect wildlife. </p>
<p>Falciparum malaria kills hundreds of thousands of people yearly, especially in Africa. But in the Atlantic tropical forest of Brazil, we have also found a surprisingly high rate of <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em> (the malaria parasite responsible for severe malaria) circulating <a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-015-0680-9">in the absence of humans</a>. That raises the possibility that this parasite may be infecting <a href="http://www.nhc.ed.ac.uk/index.php?page=493.166.504.508.511">new world monkeys</a>. Elsewhere in the Amazon, monkey species have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-12-180">become naturally infected</a>. In both cases, deforestation could have facilitated cross-infection.</p>
<p>We and other scientists have extensively documented the <a href="https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2006.74.3">associations between deforestation</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1905315116">and malaria</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757555/">in the Amazon</a>, showing how the malaria-carrying mosquitoes and human malaria cases are <a href="http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085725">strongly linked</a> <a href="http://doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760170522">to deforested habitat</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343339/original/file-20200622-54981-ass960.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children in Ethiopia read under mosquito netting, used to protect people from mosquitoes that transmit malaria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-ambowuha-birtukan-demissie-reads-to-her-siblings-before-news-photo/585855656?adppopup=true">Louise Gubb/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another type of malaria, <em>Plasmodium knowlesi</em>, known to circulate among monkeys, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15836-4">became a concern to human health</a> over a decade ago in Southeast Asia. Several studies have shown that areas sustaining higher rates of forest loss also had <a href="http://doi.org/10.3201/eid2202.150656">higher rates of human infections</a>, and that the mosquito vectors and monkey hosts spanned a wide range of habitats <a href="http://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-016-1527-0">including disturbed forest</a>.</p>
<h2>Venezuelan equine encephalitis: Rodents move in</h2>
<p>Venezuelan equine encephalitis is another mosquito-borne virus that is estimated to cause tens to hundreds of thousands of humans to develop febrile illnesses every year. Severe infections can lead to encephalitis and even death. </p>
<p>In the Darien province of Panama, we found that two rodent species had particularly high rates of infection with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, leading us to suspect that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004554">these species may be the wildlife hosts</a>. </p>
<p>One of the species, Tome’s spiny rat, has also been <a href="http://doi.org/10.3201/eid1105.041251">implicated in other studies</a>. The other, the short-tailed cane mouse, is also involved in the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as hantavirus and possibly Madariaga virus, an emergent encephalitis virus. </p>
<p>While <a href="http://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467498000509">Tome’s spiny rat</a> is widely found in tropical forests in the Americas, it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2000)081%3C0070:MUBATF%3E2.0.CO;2">readily occupies regrowth and forest fragments</a>. The <a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Zygodontomys_brevicauda/">short-tailed cane mouse</a> prefers habitat on the edge of forests and abutting cattle pastures. </p>
<p>As deforestation in this region progresses, these two rodents can occupy forest fragments, cattle pastures and the regrowth that arises when fields lie fallow. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07476-2">Mosquitoes also occupy these areas</a> and can bring the virus to humans and livestock.</p>
<h2>Ebola: Disease at the forest’s edge</h2>
<p>Vector-borne diseases are not the only zoonoses sensitive to deforestation. Ebola was first described in 1976, but outbreaks have become more common. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/history/2014-2016-outbreak/index.html">2014-2016 outbreak</a> killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa and drew attention to diseases that can spread from wildlife to humans. </p>
<p>The natural transmission cycle of the Ebola virus remains elusive. Bats have been implicated, with possible additional ground-dwelling animals maintaining “silent” transmission between human outbreaks. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343343/original/file-20200622-54985-143xodx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bats, sometimes eaten as food, have been suspected of spreading Ebola.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ugandan-man-displays-a-bat-he-captured-for-food-december-1-news-photo/1320445">Tyler Hicks/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the exact nature of transmission is not yet known, several studies have shown that deforestation and forest fragmentation were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14727-9">associated with outbreaks</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41613">between 2004 and 2014</a>. In addition to possibly concentrating Ebola wildlife hosts, fragmentation may serve as a <a href="http://doi.org/10.1590/0074-0276140417">corridor for pathogen-carrying animals</a> to spread the virus over large areas, and it may increase human contact with these animals along the forest edge.</p>
<h2>What about the coronavirus?</h2>
<p>While the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak hasn’t been proved, a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0820-9">genetically similar virus</a> has been detected in <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.03.022">intermediate horseshoe bats and</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2169-0">Sunda pangolins</a>.</p>
<p>The range of the Sunda pangolin – which is critically endangered – overlaps with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00381.x">intermediate horseshoe bat</a> in the forests of Southeast Asia, where it lives in mature tree hollows. As forest habitat shrinks, could pangolins also experience increased density and susceptibility to pathogens? </p>
<p>In fact, in small <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4632">urban forest fragments</a> in Malaysia, the Sunda pangolin was detected even though overall mammal diversity was much lower than a comparison tract of contiguous forest. This shows that this animal is able to persist in fragmented forests where it could increase contact with humans or other animals that can harbor potentially zoonotic viruses, such as bats. The Sunda pangolin is poached for its meat, skin and scales and imported illegally from Malaysia and Vietnam into China. A wet market in Wuhan that sells such animals has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104384">suspected as a source</a> of the current pandemic.</p>
<h2>Preventing zoonotic spillover</h2>
<p>There is still a lot that we don’t know about how viruses jump from wildlife to humans and what might drive that contact. </p>
<p>Forest fragments and their associated landscapes encompassing forest edge, agricultural fields and pastures have been a repeated theme in tropical zoonoses. While many species disappear as forests are cleared, others have been able to adapt. Those that adapt may become more concentrated, increasing the rate of infections. </p>
<p>Given the evidence, it is clear humans need to balance the production of food, forest commodities and other goods with the protection of tropical forests. Conservation of wildlife may keep their pathogens in check, preventing zoonotic spillover, and ultimately benefiting humans, too.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139645/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Y. Vittor receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. She is affiliated with the group Florida Clinicians for Climate Action as a steering committee member. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriel Zorello Laporta receives funding from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq
grant n. 307432/2019-0) and received funding from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP grant n. 2014/09774-1). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maria Anice Mureb Sallum receives funding from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, FAPESP # 2014/26229-7, and Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa, CNPq # 301877/2016-5. </span></em></p>Yellow fever, malaria and Ebola all spilled over from animals to humans at the edges of tropical forests. The new coronavirus is the latest zoonosis.Amy Y. Vittor, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of FloridaGabriel Zorello Laporta, Professor of biology and infectious diseases, Faculdade de Medicina do ABCMaria Anice Mureb Sallum, Professor of Epidemiology, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1356692020-06-19T12:07:31Z2020-06-19T12:07:31ZPython skin jackets and elephant leather boots: How wealthy Western nations help drive the global wildlife trade<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340402/original/file-20200608-176538-le18fi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5112%2C3410&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters hold signs outside women's fashion designer Eudon Choi in London during Fashion Week in 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-september-15-2017-man-720967780">Elena Rostenova/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Three-quarters of new and emerging infectious diseases in humans <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html">originate in wildlife</a>. COVID-19, SARS and Ebola all started this way. The COVID-19 global pandemic has drawn new attention to how people think about wild animals, consume them and interact with them, and how those interactions can affect public health.</p>
<p>Any activity that puts people in close proximity to disease-prone animals is risky, including wildlife trade and the <a href="https://ensia.com/features/covid-19-coronavirus-biodiversity-planetary-health-zoonoses/">destruction of natural habitats</a>. In response to the current pandemic, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-bans-wildlife-trade-consumption-coronavirus-2020-2">China</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/18/billion-dollar-wildlife-industry-in-vietnam-under-assault-as-law-drafted-to-halt-trading">Vietnam</a> have instituted bans on wildlife consumption. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/ban-live-animal-markets-pandemics-un-biodiversity-chief-age-of-extinction">Global leaders</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/15/mixed-with-prejudice-calls-for-ban-on-wet-markets-misguided-experts-argue-coronavirus">U.S. policymakers</a> are calling for a ban on wildlife markets worldwide. </p>
<p>We study <a href="https://www.environmentalgovernance.org/">global environmental governance</a> and human security. As we see it, banning the wildlife trade without action to reduce consumer demand would likely <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/coronavirus-pandemic-nature-illegal-wildlife-trade-market-china-a9483761.html">drive it underground</a>. And curbing that demand requires recognizing that much of it comes from wealthy nations.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aoPBaoWfE08?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Exotic animals are regularly smuggled into the U.S. as pets and for display at roadside zoos.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A complex and mostly legal trade</h2>
<p>Global commerce in wildlife affects billions of animals and plants, and operates through both legal and illegal channels. The <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/">United Nations Environment Programme</a> estimates the value of the legal trade at <a href="https://www.grida.no/resources/7309">US$300 billion annually</a>. <a href="https://www.traffic.org/">TRAFFIC</a>, a leading nongovernmental organization, estimates that the illegal wildlife trade is worth <a href="http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/FightingIllicitWildlifeTrafficking_KeyFindings.pdf">$19 billion annually</a>. Illegal wildlife trafficking is one of the <a href="https://gfintegrity.org/report/transnational-crime-and-the-developing-world/">largest drivers of transnational crime</a> worldwide.</p>
<p>Discussions about wildlife consumerism often ascribe consumption to a false, all-encompassing archetype of an “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337403945_Margulies_Wong_Duffy_The_imaginary_'Asian_Super_Consumer'_A_critique_of_demand_reduction_campaigns_for_the_illegal_wildlife_trade">Asian super consumer</a>” with “weird” appetites for exotic animals. This perspective focuses on newly wealthy Asians who want to buy ivory, rhino horn or, more recently, pangolin.</p>
<p>Another common trope depicts poachers as male, greedy, gun-toting <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Gender+and+the+Environment-p-9780745663838">African criminals</a>. In fact, poaching and hunting for “<a href="https://www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-without-borders/global-program/bushmeat.html">bush meat</a>,” or meat from wild animals, are more often symptoms of poverty and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-poachers-persist-in-hunting-bushmeat-even-though-its-dangerous-95047">lack of other income-generating opportunities</a>.</p>
<p>These false stories can result in blinkered policy decisions that ignore the real motivations driving both consumption and poaching. In particular, consumer demand in the United States and Europe is a significant driver of wildlife trade. And wildlife products appeal to Western consumers for many of the same reasons that drive demand in other parts of the world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340411/original/file-20200608-176550-3x5vml.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A customs officer stands near sacks of seized pangolin scales in Hong Kong in 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/pangolin?events=775291474&family=editorial&phrase=pangolin&sort=best#license">ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The roles of gender, class and culture</h2>
<p>According to a 2017 study, between 2000 and 2015 the United States imported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-017-1211-7">more than 5 million shipments of live and dead wildlife</a>. They included mammals, birds, fish and reptiles purchased as exotic pets, along with timber, plants and animal parts. The number of shipments declared each year more than doubled between 2000 and 2015. </p>
<p>Consumption reflects social values, and consumer preferences vary by culture, class and gender. What do a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7n6_YHLufE">150-ounce steak</a> in the United States and <a href="https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/04/29/tigers-in-traditional-chinese-medicine-a-universal-apothecary/">tiger penis wine</a> in China have in common? The culturally symbolic belief that they exemplify and promote male virility. Similarly, luxury wear items – such as exotic giraffe leather boots in Texas, python skin jackets in Milan and fur coats in Florida – are a way of dressing to impress others. </p>
<p>What people consume and how is influenced by socially conditioned roles and responsibilities, <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/kristenghodsee/files/wsif1150.pdf">reinforced by television and advertising</a>. Conceptions of gender most often determine the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337403945_Margulies_Wong_Duffy_The_imaginary_'Asian_Super_Consumer'_A_critique_of_demand_reduction_campaigns_for_the_illegal_wildlife_trade">perceived value of the product</a> and shape consumption preferences. </p>
<p>For example, products like fish swim bladder – also known as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/jan/11/china-aquatic-cocaine-vaquita-totoaba-mexico-endangered-extinct">aquatic cocaine</a> – and cosmetics containing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-019-01221-0">shark liver oil</a> appeal to perceptions of female beauty, targeting aging women with false promises of eternal youth. In Asia, ground pangolin scales are marketed as a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/04/opinion/sutter-change-the-list-pangolin-trafficking/">treatment for lactation problems</a>. Trophy hunters’ photographs and showrooms with taxidermied lions or elephant tusks appeal to perceptions of masculinity. </p>
<p>Poaching of elephants for ivory has received wide coverage in Western media, but their skins <a href="https://elephant-family.org/what-we-do/raising-awareness/in-the-news/press-releases/skinned_new_investigative_report">turn up in boots</a> that are <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/wildlife-watch-zimbabwe-elephant-skins-trade/">legally marketed in wealthy nations</a>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/23/science/giraffe-sales-humane-society.html">Giraffe skins</a> are also legal goods that may be sold as expensive décor, boots or Bible covers. U.S. demand for <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/pangolin-poaching-leather-boots/">boots sheathed with the scales of pangolins</a> – the <a href="https://www.traffic.org/what-we-do/species/pangolins/">world’s most-trafficked mammal</a> and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/study-shows-pangolins-may-have-passed-new-coronavirus-from-bats-to-humans-135687">suspected source of COVID-19</a> – has contributed to this species’ decline. </p>
<p>Performing a quick online search, we identified more than 30 retailers selling elephant leather products in the United States, mainly exotic boots. Their ads promote virility — “Just a hard-working, tough as nails, pair of American made cowboy boots” — and promise that others will be impressed, with messages like “No ignoring these elephants when they’re in the room.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340405/original/file-20200608-176585-ql69sl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An outfitter markets elephant-skin boots with a play on words promising that people who wear them will get attention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BV70s6Shr2E/?utm_source=ig_embed">From Instagram</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Targeting the fashion industry</h2>
<p>Western countries <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10393-017-1211-7">mostly import</a> wildlife goods, which can make the effects of this trade seem far removed. However, media exposés are making it hard for wealthy consumers and businesses to deny its impact.</p>
<p>While many question <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-asia-end-its-uncontrolled-consumption-of-wildlife-heres-how-north-america-did-it-a-century-ago-137343">whether Asians will stop eating wild animals</a>, we question whether Western consumers will stop wearing them. The global fashion industry, with an <a href="https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics/">estimated annual valuation of US$3 trillion</a>, is an important target for change. </p>
<p>Some companies have responded to campaigns by advocacy groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has crashed runways and solicited celebrities. PETA has claimed victory for its <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/peta-naked-fur-campaign-ends/index.html">30-year campaign</a>, “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur.” “Nearly every top designer has shed fur, California has banned it, Queen Elizabeth II has renounced it, Macy’s is closing its fur salons, and now, the largest fur auction house in North America has <a href="https://www.peta.org/features/id-rather-go-naked-than-wear-fur-campaign-ends">filed for bankruptcy,”</a> said PETA senior vice president Dan Mathews when the campaign ended in 2020. </p>
<p>Still, the industry has far to go. “Despite some modest
progress, fashion hasn’t yet taken its environmental responsibilities
seriously enough,” the consulting firm McKinsey observed in a recent report, noting that many younger consumers were <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/%7E/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/the%20state%20of%20fashion%202020%20navigating%20uncertainty/the-state-of-fashion-2020-final.ashx">demanding “transformational change</a>.” </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1271115333164765185"}"></div></p>
<p>Now animal welfare advocates are focusing on leather and wool production. Fashion houses including Chanel, Nine West and Victoria Beckham are banning the use of exotic leathers. California has also banned them from being sold.</p>
<p>Many brands source fur, feathers and skins from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/conservation-and-fashion-what-is-the-impact-of-using-exotic-animal-skins/a-49156030">factory farms</a> that raise exotic species and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/05/science/animal-farms-southeast-asia-endangered-animals.html">legally trade captive-bred endangered species</a> that are illegal to source from the wild. The absence of strong regulatory measures allows for illegally obtained skins to be passed off as legal. </p>
<p>Better quality control of fashion materials could make it harder for companies to work with these suppliers. Learning from <a href="http://awsassets.wwfnz.panda.org/downloads/draft_blockchain_report_1_4_1.pdf">seafood industry systems</a> that trace products from origin to consumption could ensure transparency and bring order to complex supply chains.</p>
<h2>Changing consumer preferences</h2>
<p>Ultimately, reducing demand for wildlife products will require regulation as well as educating consumers about the consequences of their choices. Helping people understand the harmful impacts of products ranging from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/climate/plastic-alternative-business.html">plastic bags and plastic straws</a> to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2014.10.010">gasoline-powered cars</a> is the first step in persuading them to consider alternatives. And when they do, and policies change, producers listen and shift supply.</p>
<p>We see targeted campaigns as an effective way to unearth consumption biases and mobilize action for public and planetary health. In our view, more brands and designers banning wildlife products, and greater peer pressure for behavior change, will promote more sustainable consumption patterns that benefit both humans and wildlife.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135669/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a harsh light on global commerce in wildlife. But many accounts focus on demand from Asia, ignoring the role of US and European consumers.Maria Ivanova, Associate Professor of Global Governance and Director, Center for Governance and Sustainability, John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, UMass BostonCandace Famiglietti, Doctoral Student, Global Governance and Human Security and Research Associate, Center for Governance and Sustainability at John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1373432020-06-17T12:16:03Z2020-06-17T12:16:03ZCan Asia end its uncontrolled consumption of wildlife? Here’s how North America did it a century ago<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341961/original/file-20200615-65930-1b0hqax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C3916%2C2608&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Burning confiscated elephant ivory and animal horns in Myanmar's first public display of action against the illegal wildlife trade, Oct. 4, 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/elephant-ivory-and-animal-horns-burn-during-a-ceremony-to-news-photo/1045308816?adppopup=true">Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was a dark time for animals. Poaching was rampant. Wild birds and mammals were <a href="https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1950/10/15/how-we-massacred-the-passenger-pigeon">being slaughtered by the thousands</a>. An out-of-control wildlife trade was making once-common animals <a href="https://www.americanheritage.com/return-white-tailed-deer#1">hard to find</a> and pushing rare species into extinction.</p>
<p>This is the story of North America a century ago, and of Asia today. But there was a surprise ending in America, and I believe there could be one in Asia. </p>
<p>Today North America has abundant wildlife. Much of my research as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Rd3MdDkAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1">wildlife biologist</a> focuses on documenting the rebound of species that once were hunted into scarcity, including <a href="https://www.fws.gov/home/wolfrecovery/">wolves</a>, <a href="https://faculty.cnr.ncsu.edu/christophersdeperno/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2019/07/PR138-Bragina-Coyotes-and-deer-JWM.pdf">deer</a> and <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/acv.12138?casa_token=p6gRc5gsjH0AAAAA%3A2012rwgyWCqzsSYTDTxwBGpoTs_Zi2IYme7qwmQVFjTAdGVCsRnLWU__a5EQDQcJBAplMtmsdQAXQg">fishers</a>. </p>
<p>This is the outcome of what I call the North American wildlife conservation miracle. A century ago, with many species on the brink of extinction, people here stopped overusing wildlife and created a new culture of conservation.</p>
<p>Today unregulated wildlife trade in Asia is decimating species in much of the world, and now even threatens humans through the likely <a href="https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02571158/document">spillover of the SARS-CoV-2 virus</a> from bats or pangolins to humans. Suddenly the harm caused by this rampant wildlife trade is in the spotlight, which creates an opportunity to pull off a conservation miracle in Asia. I hope lessons from the American experience can help.</p>
<h2>Out-of-control wildlife trade</h2>
<p>In the late 1800s and early 1900s the seemingly endless bounty of America’s wildlife began to run out. By 1878, three northeast species – the <a href="https://www.fieldguidetoextinctbirds.com/?p=3101">Labrador duck</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/science/great-auks-extinction.html">great auk</a> and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/88/2/371/833360">sea mink</a> – went extinct. The <a href="https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/Elk/Pages/HistoryofElkinPA.aspx">eastern elk</a>, the largest mammal in most eastern states, followed in the 1880s. Even highly resilient species like <a href="https://www.americanheritage.com/return-white-tailed-deer#1">white-tailed deer</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/videos/2019/4/23/18511314/canada-goose-history">Canada goose</a> declined sharply. Bison once numbered 30 million, but were down to a <a href="https://www.fws.gov/bisonrange/timeline.htm">few hundred</a> animals by the late 1880s. </p>
<p>The pioneer delusion of endless bounty was replaced by an acceptance that there was nothing they could do about it. American settlers had a “manifest destiny” mindset, believing they were destined to expand across the continent, and accepted that the loss of other species was an inevitable consequence of that. </p>
<p>Then the bison didn’t go extinct. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341960/original/file-20200615-65956-1qaekg4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The Christmas Season,’ 1878, an engraving by Arthur Burdett Frost of a wild game stand at New York City’s Fulton Market showing a bear, deer and many types of birds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-d81e-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99">NYPL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Back from the brink</h2>
<p>For some Americans, <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-president-who-saved-the-american-bison/">including Theodore Roosevelt</a>, the prospect of erasing an iconic species like bison was a call to action. They formed the <a href="http://www.ambisonsociety.org/">American Bison Society</a>, which bred bison at New York’s Bronx Zoo and shipped them west in hope of repopulating their former ranges.</p>
<p>As president, Roosevelt helped create some of the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-and-conservation.htm">first national wildlife refuges</a> and signed <a href="https://www.fws.gov/international/laws-treaties-agreements/us-conservation-laws/lacey-act.html">laws</a> restricting the wildlife trade. But the bulk of the work was done by states and individuals. </p>
<p>Americans spoke out against large-scale hunting. George Bird Grinnell, editor of the sporting journal Forest and Stream, used the magazine as a platform to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/envhis/article-abstract/22/3/553/3778210">call for protecting birds</a>. Grinnell later teamed with Teddy Roosevelt to create the <a href="https://www.boone-crockett.org/">Boone and Crockett Club</a>, a group of conservation-minded hunters. Two Boston socialites, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-two-women-ended-the-deadly-feather-trade-23187277/">Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall</a>, formed the Massachusetts Audubon Society and worked to end the custom of adorning ladies’ hats with plumes from wild birds. </p>
<p>By the 1930s every state had a <a href="https://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FAWILD.HTML">wildlife agency</a> funded by taxes and hunting license fees. These agencies shut down most wildlife harvests, protected and restored habitat and reintroduced animals that had been eradicated, such as turkeys and otters.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/341963/original/file-20200615-65956-kkqlad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first U.S. ‘duck stamp,’ issued by the federal government in 1934. Purchase of a current duck stamp is required to hunt migratory waterbirds, with proceeds funding migratory bird conservation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.fws.gov/birds/get-involved/duck-stamp/federal-duck-stamp-gallery-1934-1935.php">USFWS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When hunting resumed, states managed when it could take place and how many animals a person could harvest. Ecology was a new field, and scientists like <a href="https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold/">Aldo Leopold</a> adapted its principles to create wildlife management as a new branch of study that could help inform these regulations.</p>
<p>Today deer, turkey, bear, elk, ducks and geese <a href="http://www.jimsterba.com/">are abundant</a> in many parts of North America. State governments carefully regulate harvests. Wildlife is not sold commercially for food in the U.S., unlike <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/13/australias-kangaroo-cull-humane-and-sustainable-or-exercise-in-cruelty">Australia</a> and <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/animalproducts/game_en">much of Europe</a>. Trapping and sale of fur-bearing animals like beaver and fisher is <a href="https://www.fishwildlife.org/afwa-inspires/furbearer-management">managed sustainably</a>.</p>
<p>Of course, wildlife conservation in North America still faces serious challenges, including <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw1313">habitat loss</a>, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/wolverines-battling-climate-change-shrinking-north-territory-feature/">climate change</a> and <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/mercurys_silent_toll_on_the_worlds_wildlife">pollution</a>. But unsustainable hunting is no longer a problem, and legal hunting helps fund conservation for all species. </p>
<h2>Will Asia stop eating wildlife?</h2>
<p>Over the last 20 years, demand for wildlife products in Asia has driven a collapse of animal populations there, as well as in Africa and Latin America. Most larger mammal species outside of North America today are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1165115">primarily threatened by poaching</a> for food, art and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/08/08/extinction-by-traditional-chinese-medicine-an-environmental-disaster/#6e8a50565bd3">traditional medicines of dubious effectiveness</a>. </p>
<p>But it seems no species have been safe from this scourge. Consumers will pay high prices for exotic dishes like <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3001927/chinese-cooking-star-kills-and-chops-rare-giant-salamander">braised salamander</a> and soup made from the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/02/09/466185043/chinese-taste-for-fish-bladder-threatens-tiny-porpoise-in-mexico">swim bladder of the totoaba, a giant Mexican fish</a>. </p>
<p>Conservationists hope to seize on the tragedy of the SARS-Cov-2 spillover to end the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-new-coronavirus-emerged-from-the-global-wildlife-trade-and-may-be-devastating-enough-to-end-it-133333">global wildlife trade</a>, or at least <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-a-blanket-ban-on-wildlife-trade-would-not-be-the-right-response-135746">regulate it more tightly.</a> What lessons can the North American experience offer? </p>
<p>First, it is critical to reduce demand. This was a <a href="http://wildlifehabitat.tamu.edu/Lessons/Habitat-Concepts-1/Readings/A-Conservation-Timeline.pdf">slow process</a> a century ago. But COVID-19 has cast a stigma on wildlife products that could help turn the tide in Asia, just as public shaming in the U.S. helped end demand for things like <a href="http://eustis.estate/location/on-the-wing/">feather hats</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/7a69d5168701e7b1eb26e37576f1cec7">fur from spotted cats</a>. </p>
<p>Today animal welfare advocates are using social media to urge Asian consumers to avoid products made from endangered animals. In response to efforts like these, China <a href="https://hongkongfp.com/2017/12/27/basketball-star-yao-ming-joins-calls-stop-ivory-trade-china-ban-set-kick-sunday/">banned domestic sales of ivory in 2017</a>, and Chinese <a href="https://wildaid.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/WildAid-Sharks-in-Crisis-2018.pdf">consumption of shark fin soup</a> has declined sharply over the past decade.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wcjBy0fyGl0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Former NBA star Yao Ming has campaigned for a decade to reduce Chinese demand for wildlife products.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Second, this effort will involve many players, including national governments, regional authorities and nongoverment organizations like <a href="https://www.svw.vn/">Save Vietnam’s Wildlife</a>, <a href="http://batconservationindia.org/">Bat Conservation India Trust</a> and <a href="https://www.savepangolins.org/about-us">Save Pangolins</a>. These groups understand local culture and politics, and can connect directly with communities where wildlife is hunted and sold.</p>
<p>Finally, we need some optimism. The persistence of the bison a century ago showed Americans that extinction wasn’t the only option. It is important now to <a href="https://www.wildlifeinsights.org/covid-19-message">monitor wildlife populations</a> so that efforts can target species most at risk, and to celebrate recoveries that might be early signs of a second conservation miracle.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137343/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roland Kays receives funding from The National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>In the 1800s, Americans hunted many wild species near or into extinction. Then in the early 1900s, the US shifted from uncontrolled consumption of wildlife to conservation. Could Asia follow suit?Roland Kays, Research Associate Professor of Wildlife and Scientist at NC Museum of Natural Sciences, North Carolina State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1354792020-04-15T19:35:02Z2020-04-15T19:35:02ZCoronavirus: live animals are stressed in wet markets, and stressed animals are more likely to carry diseases<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327933/original/file-20200415-153347-stphfs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C44%2C4155%2C2747&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a controversial move, China recently <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/morrison-chides-who-as-wet-markets-reopen-in-china-s-coronavirus-epicentre">reopened its wet markets</a>, which sell fresh meat, produce and live animals. A wet market in Wuhan may have been the source of the COVID-19 outbreak.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned the move, and the World Health Organization reportedly <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/asia-today-china-wet-markets-panned-india-extends-70135427">stated</a> while wet markets don’t need to close down, they should be prohibited from selling illegal wildlife, such as pangolins and civet cats, for food, and food safety and hygiene regulations should be enforced.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-shutting-down-chinese-wet-markets-could-be-a-terrible-mistake-130625">Why shutting down Chinese ‘wet markets’ could be a terrible mistake</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The demand for meat and milk in China is growing rapidly. Nearly 1.5 billion people live in China, and each person eats, on average, about <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/691439/china-meat-consumption/#statisticContainer">2.5 times more meat</a> than in the early 1990s. </p>
<p>But unlike in the West – where well-established standards are dedicated to farm animal welfare – <a href="https://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/china">China has no animal welfare standards</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1250181924875714560"}"></div></p>
<p>Poorly treated animals are stressed, and stressed animals are more likely to harbour new diseases because their immune systems are compromised. </p>
<p>This means these wet markets, where there are stressed animals in close contact with humans, are the perfect breeding ground for new diseases.</p>
<p>China urgently needs to restructure its animal industries for global food safety. “Clean” meat" (meat grown from cells in a laboratory) offers hope – but more on that later. </p>
<h2>Stressed animals can’t fight diseases well</h2>
<p>The consumption of wildlife per se does not increase the risk of disease transmission. Freshly killed deer in the Scottish highlands can provide venison that’s less risky than intensively farmed chickens, which are routinely infected with human pathogens. </p>
<p>When wildlife are stressed, farmed in small cages and kept in close contact with humans during the entire rearing and slaughtering process, including in wet markets, the risk of disease transmission rises. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-viruses-mutate-and-jump-species-and-why-are-spillovers-becoming-more-common-134656">How do viruses mutate and jump species? And why are 'spillovers' becoming more common?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>When a pathogen challenges a healthy immune system, the body responds with inflammation to fight it. But when an animal is stressed, the hormone cortisol is released. </p>
<p>This causes the normal inflammatory response to change into a more <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/10815731_Immunity_and_mastitis_Some_new_ideas_for_an_old_disease">limited activation of white blood cells</a>. And this allows new pathogens to survive and multiply.</p>
<h2>Wildlife under pressure</h2>
<p>As well as importing more meat, the Chinese government has rapidly changed production systems from “peasant-style” agriculture to intensive animal production systems. Recent urban expansion has also put more pressure on agricultural land. </p>
<p>Some weeks ago I visited a new dairy farm in China with more than 30,000 cows. I passed through a destroyed village where small farms kept just a few cows each. Cows in the new megafarms are permanently housed and produce twice as much milk as the cows on small farms, being fed a richer diet. </p>
<p>But they typically last only two or three lactations because of the stress, whereas small farmers’ cows might be kept for a decade.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-is-a-wake-up-call-our-war-with-the-environment-is-leading-to-pandemics-135023">Coronavirus is a wake-up call: our war with the environment is leading to pandemics</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similarly, wildlife populations have been put under significant pressure. The human population density in <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?source=2&series=EN.POP.DNST&country=">China has grown to four times</a> that of the United States and 50 times that of Australia, all similar-sized countries with significant wilderness areas. Indigenous forest in China has diminished <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/blog/1954/the-problems-of-deforestation-in-asia/">to just 3% of its original area</a>.</p>
<p>Domesticated animals have been bred to tolerate traditional farming systems without getting unduly stressed. Wildlife have not. </p>
<h2>The response to wildlife farming</h2>
<p>In 2017, the Chinese government issued <a href="https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/WPL-Final-Law_translation_rev-January-2019.pdf">a law</a> tightening up trade in wildlife, but still allowed wildlife not under state protection and obtained by a person with a hunting license to be sold. Fines for vendors and purchasers were as little as twice the value of the wildlife. </p>
<p>With limited “wild life” available for consumption, entrepreneurial Chinese have turned to farming them in an industry reportedly worth <a href="https://multimedia.scmp.com/infographics/news/china/article/3064927/wildlife-ban/index.html">billions and employing 6 million people</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-a-blanket-ban-on-wildlife-trade-would-not-be-the-right-response-135746">Coronavirus: why a blanket ban on wildlife trade would not be the right response</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Keeping wildlife in small cages – as is practised on wildlife farms – causes them immense stress, traditionally recognised as “<a href="https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/7/1/coz027/5528374">capture myopathy</a>”, which can be so severe that it kills them. </p>
<p>But in February this year the <a href="http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202002/c56b129850aa42acb584cf01ebb68ea4.shtml">law tightened</a> to include a ban on all consumption of terrestrial wildlife, but only if they lived naturally, rather than on farms.</p>
<p>However, nearly 20,000 of the wildlife farms have reportedly been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/coronavirus-closures-reveal-vast-scale-of-chinas-secretive-wildlife-farm-industry">closed down</a> since the COVID-19 outbreak began. </p>
<h2>Signs of change</h2>
<p>There are signs of growing awareness in China towards stress in their animals. </p>
<p>My colleagues and I at the University of Queensland recently established a <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2019/03/advancing-animal-welfare-asia">Sino-Australian Animal Welfare Centre</a>, and our latest research has found a growing number of scientists studying animal welfare issues in China. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327944/original/file-20200415-153298-1f5e2yo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lab-grown meat is a viable alternative to traditional meat sources in China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, there’s a big opportunity to bring “clean meat” into the Chinese diet.
Clean meat is grown synthetically from muscle cells, without the massive land and water resources required of traditional meat production in China, without the emissions of pollutants and, most importantly, without the risk of transmission of novel diseases. </p>
<p>In fact, plant-based meat substitutes are gaining favour in China as more sustainable and healthy products. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494418302408">A 2018 study</a> found Chinese consumers’ intention to eat less meat had a positive emotional response. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-finally-made-us-recognise-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-is-a-public-health-issue-133673">Coronavirus has finally made us recognise the illegal wildlife trade is a public health issue</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>And Chinese people are <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2019.00011/full">more likely to purchase clean meat</a> and vegetarian-based alternatives than people in the United States. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/china/">Cultural studies</a> suggest that in general, Chinese people have many of the right qualities for widescale adoption. They act in the collective interest, not for themselves, they are adaptable and entrepreneurial, and their society is driven by competition and success in the face of adversity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/calling-covid-19-a-chinese-virus-is-wrong-and-dangerous-the-pandemic-is-global-134307">Calling COVID-19 a 'Chinese virus' is wrong and dangerous – the pandemic is global</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Chinese government also supports using <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2017-feeding-china/">advanced agricultural technology</a> to solve food safety (and security) issues. </p>
<p>Chinese scientists are already working on clean meat. In fact, the first cultured meat there, from pig muscle stem cells, was produced last year by scientists at <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/22/c_138573612.htm">Nanjing Agricultural University</a>. </p>
<p>Clean meat is expected to comprise <a href="https://www.atkearney.com/retail/article/?/a/how-will-cultured-meat-and-meat-alternatives-disrupt-the-agricultural-and-food-industry">35% of the global meat market in 2040</a>. Perhaps it will be even faster in China to avoid more animal-borne diseases emerging.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135479/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clive Phillips receives funding from Open Philanthropy Project. </span></em></p>Stressed animals are more likely to harbour new diseases because their immune systems are compromised.Clive Phillips, Professor of Animal Welfare, Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1357462020-04-08T15:15:58Z2020-04-08T15:15:58ZCoronavirus: why a blanket ban on wildlife trade would not be the right response<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326548/original/file-20200408-152974-1jg6bow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dali-china-october-27-2013-illegal-456117931">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic have been linked to a “wet” market in Wuhan, in the Hubei province of eastern China. Wet markets are common in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, selling fresh fruit and vegetables, poultry, fresh meat and live animals, including wildlife. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/how-did-coronavirus-start-and-where-did-it-come-from-was-it-really-wuhans-animal-market">Reports initially indicated</a> that the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 may have been transmitted to people from wildlife at this wet market because of unsanitary conditions. </p>
<p>The pandemic has led to some wildlife conservation organisations to call for blanket bans on wildlife trade on public health grounds. They include bans on <a href="https://www.wcs.org/get-involved/updates/wcs-issues-policy-on-reducing-risk-of-future-zoonotic-pandemics">commercial trade in wildlife for human consumption</a> and <a href="https://lioncoalition.org/2020/04/04/open-letter-to-world-health-organisation/">calls from 200 organisations</a> to close down live wildlife markets. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51310786">More extreme calls</a> include ending the keeping, breeding, domestication and use of all wildlife, which also covers traditional medicine.</p>
<p>But blanket bans are unlikely to benefit people or wildlife, and are unfeasible because they overlook the complexity of the wildlife trade. The COVID-19 outbreak should not be used opportunistically to prescribe global wildlife trade policy. A more appropriate response would be to improve wildlife trade regulation with a direct focus on human health.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326579/original/file-20200408-170987-18yochj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A fish market in Seoul, South Korea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rodrigo Oyanedel</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wildlife is used globally on a daily basis, from <a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11037/enhancing_management_benefit_flows_vietnam_wild_medicinal_products-1.pdf">medicinal plants</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12231-008-9043-6">edible fungi</a>, to wild meat in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0309174018308064">Europe</a>, <a href="https://www.fwspubs.org/doi/pdf/10.3996/032017-JFWM-028">North America</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621286/">Southern Africa</a> and elsewhere. Wildlife trade enables people in many parts of the world to meet their basic needs and can provide <a href="https://cites.org/eng/prog/livelihoods">livelihood benefits</a> from harvesting or farming.</p>
<p>Despite the way it is often presented, wildlife trade involves far more than animals harvested in tropical regions and sold in China. It includes species from land, freshwater and marine habitats, including fisheries, in production systems ranging from wild harvesting to captive breeding. It takes place at local and international levels, includes legal and illegal, sustainable and unsustainable components, and is measurable in <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-101718-033253">billions of dollars</a> annually.</p>
<h2>Bans are seldom the answer</h2>
<p>Unquestionably, wildlife trade regulations require review in response to COVID-19 for public health reasons. However, while bans may appear to be a logical solution, their impact on public health cannot be assumed to be positive. They could also do more harm than good for biodiversity. Typically, prohibition does <a href="https://mises-media.s3.amazonaws.com/Economics%20of%20Prohibition_2.pdf">not deter all traders</a> in marketplaces. This would mean that trade in some products would likely continue illegally. Traders would be motivated by financial profits, with an increased risk of trade being controlled by organised crime.</p>
<p>Bans may not stigmatise consumption either, especially where products are <a href="http://www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/pu/mpifg_dp/dp16-2.pdf">socially desirable</a>, meaning consumer demand for many products would persist. This is a public health concern because, unregulated, such trade would likely be clandestine and, if unsanitary, could pose the risk of transmitting disease from animals to humans. Bans, especially where they remove legal supply options, such as captive breeding, could <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00013.x">raise perceptions of scarcity</a>, and drive up black market prices and increase incentives for poaching. This could accelerate the exploitation and extinction of species in the wild.</p>
<p>The outcome for wildlife economies would also be uncertain. For example, the wildlife “breeding economy” in China is estimated to involve <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3051896/chinas-frog-breeders-silenced-over-opposition-wildlife-trade">14 million people</a> and be worth more than <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3051896/chinas-frog-breeders-silenced-over-opposition-wildlife-trade">US$74 billion</a> annually. The fate of animals under human care and the people employed in these industries would require consideration. In China, bamboo rat and badger farmers are to be compensated and given grants for new businesses following the <a href="http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202003/10/WS5e66e2d1a31012821727da8a.html">closure of almost 3,000 farms</a> in response to COVID-19. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326490/original/file-20200408-16182-15qsiwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Scientists have discovered a virus similar to COVID-19 in the threatened pangolin, which is heavily trafficked for its meat and scales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/critically-endangered-pangolin-on-rock-eight-1241648128">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To be effective, bans would need to be largely in step with <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17440572.2017.1345680?src=recsys">local social norms</a> and well enforced. But this is unrealistic in many parts of the world where law enforcement is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13880292.2016.1248701?journalCode=uwlp20">cripplingly under-resourced</a> in terms of technology and manpower. Local people may also challenge the <a href="https://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G03903.pdf">legitimacy of any bans</a>. Requiring agencies to enforce comprehensive bans in these circumstances would most likely overwhelm them.</p>
<p>Even where there are strong laws and enforcement, implementation is challenging and illegal trade still occurs frequently, such as the <a href="https://freshwaterblog.net/2019/07/05/illegal-trafficking-of-the-european-eel-the-worlds-greatest-wildlife-crime/">harvesting and trafficking of the European eel</a> in Europe. It is also unlikely that law enforcement would receive the financial investment necessary to enforce bans in the long term, due to political constraints on spending and other more urgent priorities.</p>
<h2>Better regulated trade</h2>
<p>Banning all wildlife trade is a knee-jerk and potentially self-defeating measure. A more appropriate response would be improving regulation of wildlife markets, especially those involving live animals. This should include full consideration of public health and animal welfare concerns to ensure there is low risk of future animal-to-human disease outbreaks.</p>
<p>This could be achieved by focusing on highest-risk species and improving conditions along supply chains and in markets, such as health and safety and sanitation, and regular animal health checks. These practices could draw on existing standards that apply to regulations for <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/publications/store/live-animals-regulations/">transporting live animals by air</a>.</p>
<p>Like bans, any new or revised regulations would require enforcement. But approaches such as “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q1crtm.16?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">smart regulation</a>” could be used to aid the process. This could ensure that new measures are culturally appropriate and incentivise local people, traders, buyers and law enforcement agencies to comply. Devising regulations in this way would mean they are more likely to be effective, rather than undermined which a blanket ban would do.</p>
<p>Rushing to indiscriminately ban all wildlife trade in response to COVID-19 would not eradicate the risk of animal-to-human disease outbreaks. It could also have a severe impact on livelihoods and biodiversity. Improved regulations that focus on health, if implemented well, would avoid these effects while ensuring a low risk of future disease outbreaks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135746/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Challender is Chair of the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group and is a member of the IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. He currently receives funding from the National Geographic Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Hinsley is a member of the IUCN SSC Orchid Specialist Group, IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group, and IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. She has previously received funding from Bears in Mind, for research on bear bile trade in China. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diogo Veríssimo consults for San Diego Zoo Global, Zoological Society of London and Chester Zoo. He is a member of the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael 't Sas-Rolfes is a member of the IUCN African Rhino Specialist Group and the IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group. He is also a research fellow at the Property and Environment Research Center (USA) and Earthmind (Switzerland), having received funding from the latter for his postgraduate research on wildlife trade policy.</span></em></p>If wildlife trade is forced underground it could become an even bigger threat to public health, fuel black market prices, and accelerate exploitation and extinction of species in the wild.Dan Challender, Oxford Martin Fellow, University of OxfordAmy Hinsley, Senior Research Fellow, University of OxfordDiogo Veríssimo, Research Fellow, University of OxfordMichael 't Sas-Rolfes, Oxford Martin Fellow, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1333332020-03-31T18:57:33Z2020-03-31T18:57:33ZThe new coronavirus emerged from the global wildlife trade – and may be devastating enough to end it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324107/original/file-20200330-159117-1cfmuis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C0%2C2456%2C1648&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Government officers seize civets in a wildlife market in Guangzhou, China to prevent the spread of SARS in 2004.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/guangzhou-government-officers-seize-civet-cats-in-xinyuan-news-photo/1124783111?adppopup=true">Dustin Shum/South China Morning Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 is one of countless emerging infectious diseases that are zoonotic, meaning they originate in animals. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003257">About 75% of emerging infectious diseases</a> are zoonotic, accounting for billions of illnesses and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-infections-by-the-numbers/">millions of deaths annually</a> across the globe. </p>
<p>When these diseases spill over to humans, the cause frequently is human behaviors, including habitat destruction and the multibillion-dollar international wildlife trade – the latter being the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0820-9">suspected source of the novel coronavirus</a>. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments to impose severe restrictions, such as social distancing, that will have massive economic costs. But there has been less discussion about identifying and changing behaviors that contribute to the emergence of zoonotic diseases. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=89PvLp0AAAAJ&hl=en">conservation biologist</a>, I believe this outbreak demonstrates the urgent need to end the global wildlife trade.</p>
<h2>Markets for disease</h2>
<p>As many Americans now know, the COVID-19 coronavirus is one of a family of coronaviruses <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-wrong-to-blame-bats-for-the-coronavirus-epidemic-134300">commonly found in bats</a>. It is suspected to have passed through a mammal, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00129">perhaps pangolins</a> – the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47200816">most-trafficked animal</a> on the planet – before jumping to humans. </p>
<p>The virus’s spillover to humans is believed to have occurred in a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-it-all-started-chinas-early-coronavirus-missteps-11583508932">so-called wet market</a> in China. At these markets, live, wild-caught animals, farm-raised wild species and livestock frequently intermingle in conditions that are unsanitary and highly stressful for the animals. These circumstances are ripe for infection and spillover. </p>
<p>The current outbreak is just the latest example of viruses jumping from animals to humans. HIV is perhaps the most infamous example: It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0802203105">originated from chimps in central Africa</a> and still <a href="https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet">kills hundreds of thousands of people</a> annually. It likely jumped to humans through consumption of <a href="https://www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-without-borders/global-program/bushmeat.html">bushmeat</a>, or meat from wildlife, which is also the likely origin of <a href="https://theconversation.com/take-bushmeat-off-the-menu-before-humans-are-served-another-ebola-32914">several Ebola oubreaks</a>. <a href="https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/program/predict">PREDICT</a>, a U.S.-funded nonprofit, suggests there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-epidemics-originate-in-asia-and-africa-and-why-we-can-expect-more-131657">thousands of viral species</a> circulating in birds and mammals that pose a direct risk to humans.</p>
<h2>Decimating wildlife and humans</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324136/original/file-20200330-165012-r46edk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coat made of pangolin scales, on display at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. The coat was given to King George III in 1820, along with a helmet also made with pangolin scales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Coat_of_Pangolin_scales.JPG">Gaius Cornelius/Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Trade in wildlife has decimated populations and species for millennia and is one of the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">five key drivers of wildlife declines</a>. People hunt and deal in animals and animal parts for food, medicine and other uses. This commerce has an estimated value of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abb6463">US$18 billion annually just in China</a>, which is believed to be the largest market globally for such products.</p>
<p>My own work focuses on African and Asian elephants, which are severely threatened by the wildlife trade. Demand for elephant ivory has caused the deaths of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1403984111">more than 100,000 elephants</a> in the last 15 years. </p>
<p>Conservationists have been working for years to end the wildlife trade or enforce strict regulations to ensure that it is conducted in ways that <a href="https://www.iucn.org/theme/species/our-work/sustainable-use-and-trade">do not threaten species’ survival</a>. Initially, the focus was on stemming the decline of threatened species. But today it is evident that this trade also harms humans. </p>
<p>For example, conservation organizations estimate that more than 100 rangers <a href="https://globalconservation.org/news/over-one-thousand-park-rangers-die-10-years-protecting-our-parks/">are killed protecting wildlife every year</a>, often by poachers and armed militias targeting high-value species such as rhinos and elephants. Violence associated with the wildlife trade <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34395.pdf">affects local communities</a>, which typically are poor and rural. </p>
<p>The wildlife trade’s disease implications have received less popular attention over the past decade. This may be because bushmeat trade and consumption targets less-charismatic species, provides a key protein source in some communities and is a driver of economic activity in some remote rural areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324130/original/file-20200330-166436-p8b095.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Smuggled leopard skin and ivory seized at New Orleans International Airport, Feb. 17, 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/SK5zPU">USFWS</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Will China follow through?</h2>
<p>In China, wild animal sales and consumption are deeply embedded culturally and represent an influential economic sector. Chinese authorities see them as a key revenue generator for impoverished rural communities, and have promoted national policies that <a href="https://theasiadialogue.com/2020/03/12/the-covid-19-epidemic-and-chinas-wildlife-business-interest/">encourage the trade despite its risks</a>. </p>
<p>In 2002-2003, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS – a disease caused by a zoonotic coronavirus transmitted through live wildlife markets – emerged in China and <a href="https://www.who.int/ith/diseases/sars/en/">spread to 26 countries</a>. Then as now, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/d41586-017-07766-9">bats were a likely source</a>. </p>
<p>In response, the Chinese government enacted strict regulations designed to end wildlife trade and its associated risks. But policies later were weakened under cultural and economic pressure.</p>
<p>Now repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic are driving faster, stronger reforms. China has announced a <a href="https://apnews.com/d59f43a911996a729cdf8636f5aa4ce4">temporary ban on all wildlife trade</a> and a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/science/coronavirus-pangolin-wildlife-ban-china.html">permanent ban on wildlife trade for food</a>. Vietnam’s prime minister has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/18/billion-dollar-wildlife-industry-in-vietnam-under-assault-as-law-drafted-to-halt-trading">proposed a similar ban</a>, and other neighboring countries are under pressure to follow this lead. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C5000%2C3323&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C0%2C5000%2C3323&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324104/original/file-20200330-174736-1k8tqxs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Propaganda poster in Beijing reinforcing wildlife market crackdowns, March 11, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-China/56a820cc73ab442ba4d7d4671f1c28a3/4/0">AP Photo/Andy Wong</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Conservation scientists are hearing rumors that wildlife markets on China’s borders – which often sell endangered species whose sale is banned within China – are collapsing as the spread of coronavirus cuts into tourism and related commerce. Similarly, there are reports that in Africa, trade in pangolin and other wildlife products <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20200316-pangolin-sales-plunge-in-gabon-over-coronavirus-fears">is shrinking</a> in response to coronavirus fears.</p>
<p>However, I worry that these changes won’t last. The Chinese government has already stated that its initial bans on <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reference/traditional-chinese-medicine/">medicinal wildlife products</a> and wildlife products for non-consumption are temporary and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abb6463">will be relaxed in the future</a>.</p>
<p>This is not sufficient. In my view, terminating the damaging and dangerous trade in wildlife will require concerted global pressure on the governments that allow it, plus internal campaigns to help end the demand that drives such trade. Without cultural change, the likely outcomes will be relaxed bans or an expansion of <a href="https://www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-trafficking/">illegal wildlife trafficking</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QKmi7omu4aI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Basketball star Yao Ming has campaigned for over a decade to dissuade Chinese consumers from buying wildlife products.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Africa has borne the greatest costs from the illegal wildlife trade, which has ravaged its natural resources and fueled insecurity. A pandemic-driven global recession and cessation of tourism will drastically reduce income in wildlife-related industries. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01713.x">Poaching will likely increase</a>, potentially for international trade, but also for local bushmeat markets. And falling tourism revenues will undercut local support for protecting wild animals.</p>
<p>On top of this, if COVID-19 spreads across the continent, Africa could also suffer major losses of human life from a pandemic that could have started in an illegally traded African pangolin. </p>
<p>Like other disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to implement solutions that will ultimately benefit humans and the planet. I hope one result is that nations join together to end the costly trade and consumption of wildlife.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Wittemyer receives funding from the USDA for work on disease ecology in wildlife. He is the Chairman of the Scientific Board of the Kenyan based NGO Save the Elephants. </span></em></p>Wild animals and animal parts are bought and sold worldwide, often illegally. This multibillion-dollar industry is pushing species to extinction, fueling crime and spreading disease.George Wittemyer, Associate professor of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1313972020-02-18T13:51:18Z2020-02-18T13:51:18ZThe lucrative trade in African primates threatens their survival<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314210/original/file-20200207-27552-hmn97m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Barbary macaque and its trainer in Marrakesh square (Jemaa El Fnaa), Morocco</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ilias Kouroudis/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The trade in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajp.23079">African primates</a> is a hugely lucrative business. Every year it involves <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236896264_Primate_conservation_Measuring_and_mitigating_trade_in_primates">hundreds of thousands</a> of animals and threatens the survival of wild populations. Marilyn Norconk explains why this is big business and what can be done to put a stop to it.</em></p>
<p><strong>Which primates are being traded the most and between which countries?</strong></p>
<p>The primate trade can be local or international, legal or illegal. It’s complex and often secretive, since most primates are legally protected from hunting and exportation. International agencies, such as the <a href="https://www.cites.org/eng">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a>, try to regulate and document the trade of animals and plants to protect them from over exploitation. </p>
<p>The illegal trade, which Interpol now recognises as “wildlife crime”, is difficult to track but of deep concern <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/global-consumer-demands-fuel-the-extinction-crisis-facing-the-worlds-primates/">since about</a> 60% of primate species are now threatened with extinction. </p>
<p>In 2017, the <a href="https://oec.world/en/visualize/tree_map/hs07/export/show/all/010611/2017/">Observatory of Economic Complexity</a> reported that primary exporters of primates were Asia (55%) and Africa (25%), simply because most primates are indigenous to tropical habitats. The primary importers were North America (50%), Europe (31%) and Asia (19%).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314212/original/file-20200207-27569-od5qhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Senegalese galago.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">belizar/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of the illicit nature of the trade, it’s hard to know exactly how many animals of each species are traded, alive or dead, each year.</p>
<p>But to give some idea, the average value of the market for African live apes – bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas – is <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/01/to-tackle-great-ape-trafficking-follow-the-money-report-says/">somewhere between</a> US$2.1 million and US$8.8 million each year. A single infant or juvenile chimpanzee is <a href="https://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GFI-Illicit-Financial-Flows-and-the-Illegal-Trade-in-Great-Apes.pdf">estimated</a> to be worth as much as US$70,000 on the international market.</p>
<p>In relation to bushmeat, in West Africa, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/18/over-half-of-worlds-wild-primate-species-face-extinction-report-reveals">it’s estimated</a> that 150,000 primates – from 16 species – enter the bushmeat trade in Nigeria and Cameroon each year. </p>
<p><strong>Why, and how, are primates being trafficked?</strong></p>
<p>The trade in live and dead primates is lucrative because of a <a href="https://www.traffic.org/news/trade-threat-to-primates/">high demand</a>. </p>
<p>Live primates are in high demand for the pet trade and for <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/lemur-yoga-fueling-the-capture-of-wild-lemurs-commentary/">entertainment</a> – such as circuses, films and commercials. Some of the most <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/great-ape-trafficking-expanding-extractive-industry/">targeted</a> African primates for the pet trade include chimpanzees, barbary macaques (from Morocco), lemurs (from Madagascar) and <a href="http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/59421/1/Svensson%20et%20al%202016.pdf">galagos (bush babies)</a>.</p>
<p>Barbary macaques from Morocco, usually illegally exported to Europe, provide a <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/09/international-trade-in-barbary-macaques-banned/">well-documented</a> example. Young macaques <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10329-019-00729-w">are poached</a> from the wild to be used as pets in the international market, and as photo props and pets in Morocco and Algeria. The trade in macaques, in addition to <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/africa/news/reconnecting-forest-endangered-barbary-macaque">habitat loss</a>, has caused a massive decline to just 4,000 to 5,000 monkeys, down from <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231977417_Decline_of_the_Endangered_Barbary_macaque_Macaca_sylvanus_in_the_cedar_forest_of_the_Middle_Atlas_Mountains_Morocco">an estimated</a> 17,000 in 1975.</p>
<p>Young primates also often enter the illegal pet trade stream as a side effect of bushmeat hunting. In a <a href="https://www.bornfree.org.uk/bushmeat">common scenario</a>, an infant, that survives the killing of its mother for food, <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Current-state-of-the-chimpanzee-pet-trade-in-Sierra-Kabasawa/30640242e5b355664c191ccb2432f7660d1a6529">could remain</a> in the village as a pet or be sold to a local animal trader for the international market.</p>
<p>While the live trade is huge, the bushmeat trade – for food or magic – also takes a huge toll on primate populations. </p>
<p><a href="http://bushmeat.net/about.html">Approximately</a> 8,000 chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos are killed each year for food. In Nigeria, chimpanzee body parts are <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/what-is-magic-without-ape-parts-inside-the-illicit-trade-devastating-nigerias-apes/">widely sought after</a> for magic. African pottos are also <a href="https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr_oa/n023p107.pdf">hunted extensively</a> and used in traditional medicine or for food in several west and central African countries. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/314215/original/file-20200207-27529-vivhm2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Critically endangered western lowland gorilla baby.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">jerry dohnal/flickr</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>What’s the impact of the trade?</strong></p>
<p>The impact of the live primate trade on wild populations is a serious problem because, along with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/18/over-half-of-worlds-wild-primate-species-face-extinction-report-reveals">the problem</a> of habitat loss, it can threaten the survival of a species. For instance, the chimpanzee population has declined from <a href="https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_1555855/component/file_2083695/content">an estimated</a> 600,000 individuals to less than 250,000 since the 1960s. This is primarily because of deforestation and bushmeat trade.</p>
<p>Because primates are <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/characteristics-of-crown-primates-105284416/">slow breeders</a>, their populations do not recover quickly. The period between births is often longer than two years. For the African apes (chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas), inter-birth intervals <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28116351">may exceed</a> four years.</p>
<p>The combined impact of the trade in live primates and habitat loss is very worrying. About 60% of primates <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28116351">are listed</a> by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “vulnerable” or “threatened with extinction”. Madagascar’s <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/lemurs-in-crisis-105-species-now-threatened-with-extinction/">lemurs</a> are now the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/are-lemurs-endangered-2592379111.html">most threatened</a> group of mammals in the world. </p>
<p>The effect is not only about numbers extracted from the wild population. The impact on individuals is tragic. Primate infants are physically and emotionally vulnerable without their mothers. </p>
<p><strong>What can be done to address this?</strong></p>
<p>There needs to be a change in behaviour to reduce the demand for primate pets. The trade is currently driven by a thriving <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajp.23079">international market</a> for pet primates. And social media now helps to drive this as an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2287884X18302681">increasingly popular</a> platform to advertise and trade the wildlife. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/putting-primates-on-screen-is-fuelling-the-illegal-pet-trade-91995">Putting primates on screen is fuelling the illegal pet trade</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Potential consumers must be made aware that young primates have a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-5e8c4bac-c236-4cd9-bacc-db96d733f6cf">very low</a> chance of survival during capture and transportation in the pet trade. </p>
<p>In primate habitat countries, better training and higher wages for wildlife officers are critical to reducing the pet trade. So is community education. A good example of this is from the Jane Goodall Institute, dedicated to the conservation of chimpanzees. It <a href="https://www.janegoodall.org/our-work/our-approach/protecting-chimpanzees/">has adopted</a> a community-centred conservation approach which relies on cooperation between three distinct entities: law enforcement, environmental education programmes and sanctuaries. </p>
<p>Also important is the safety of confiscated animals. Some will be released back into the wild, but because many will have been taken when they were young, they would need to learn to find food, avoid predators and build a social community. This means many will end up living in sanctuaries for the rest of their lives. </p>
<p>The primate trade is complex. Ultimately, to put an end to it, we need better enforcement of existing laws and people in exporting and importing countries must be better educated about the negative impact of the trade on individuals, and potentially an entire species.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131397/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marilyn A. Norconk does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Wildlife crime is difficult to track but of deep concern since about 60% of primate species are now threatened with extinction.Marilyn A. Norconk, Emeritus Professor, Kent State University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1150212019-04-23T13:59:33Z2019-04-23T13:59:33ZHow machine learning can help fight illegal wildlife trade on social media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268975/original/file-20190412-76846-eev5u3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Illegal trade in wildlife has now moved onto social media.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">wk1003mike/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The illegal wildlife trade is one of the <a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/briefings/Illegal%20Wildlife%20Briefing%20Aug%202017.pdf">biggest threats</a> to biodiversity. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/apr/03/deadly-appetite-10-animals-we-are-eating-into-extinction">Demand</a> for species and wildlife products, like rhino horn, elephant ivory and pangolin scales, have triggered an increase in unsustainable harvesting of species. This causes important <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/26/african-elephant-numbers-plummet-during-worst-decline-in-25-years">population declines</a>, threatening the existence of certain species.</p>
<p>Traditionally, illegal wildlife trade thrived in physical markets. But today it has also moved online. In China, more than half of the trade in elephant ivory items happens <a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/2536/moving_targets_china-monitoring-report.pdf">on e-commerce platforms</a>. Of this, recent investigations showed that <a href="https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/2108/briefing-online_wildlife_trade-2016.pdf">social media</a> platforms are the most popular ways to advertise, source, and trade species and wildlife products.</p>
<p>Social media offers good conditions for wildlife trafficking to thrive: the platforms are easily accessible and have a high number of users. It’s also good for sellers who can put up photographs and detailed information about the products.</p>
<p>But monitoring illegal wildlife trade on social media is a challenge. There are a huge number of different groups and profiles that data law enforcers have to investigate. Traders also often use <a href="https://phys.org/news/2018-09-illegal-ivory-dealers-similar-code.html">code words</a> to cover illegal transactions. So far, <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/wildlife/World_Wildlife_Crime_Report_2016_final.pdf">law enforcement</a> efforts by governments, international organisations and NGOs have mainly focused on manually searching social media content for information. This is done on a few key species and wildlife products.</p>
<p>In our recent <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cobi.13104">study</a> we proposed a system that uses machine learning – a type of artificial intelligence that provides systems with the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience – to investigate illegal wildlife trade on social media platforms. To our knowledge, this is the first time automatic content identification methods have been used to investigate illegal wildlife trade on social media. </p>
<p>These new methods and data can provide us with fresh insights on illegal wildlife trade at a global scale. Because it’s done by a computer, it’s able to process a huge amount of information in a short space of time. It also caters for a wide range of different species and wildlife products. </p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>The system consists of three stages: mining (examining large databases of information), filtering, and identifying relevant information on illegal wildlife trade on social media. </p>
<p>The whole system can be automated so that data are mined directly from social media platforms, the content is filtered and only relevant content is kept for further investigations by a computer or a person.</p>
<p>Neural networks make this all happen. These are a specific set of algorithms – or machine rules – that can be trained to recognise and classify species and wildlife products, like a pangolin or rhino horn, from images contained in social media posts. They can do this while also picking up the images’ settings – like a pangolin in a cage, in a market place. </p>
<p>Neural networks can also be trained to look for additional information in videos – like specific bird calls in audio – or in text – like the writing style characteristic of illegal transactions or special interest groups, like exotic pet owners.</p>
<p>Natural language processing, which analyses language, is used to infer the meaning of a text description in social media posts and assess social media users’ preferences, and their sentiment towards species and wildlife products. </p>
<p>By comprehensively looking at all this content we believe we will unveil patterns in the data that we would not be able to uncover otherwise – for example combinations of specific words and images. </p>
<p>In a previous study <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0466-x">we demonstrated</a> the value of such a system. We trained a deep neural network to determine whether Twitter posts with the word “rhino”, in 19 different languages, contained images of rhinoceros species. In doing so, we were successfully able to automatically identify all images relating to rhinos from Twitter content. This reduced the number of images that a human expert would have to review by over 90%. </p>
<p>Only a few examples of automatic online content identification exist. In another <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/cs-10/">study</a>, researchers were able to detect illegal elephant ivory items for sale on an e-commerce platform by using metadata.</p>
<p>Machine learning can be used to save experts’ time when manually classifying content on social media. It can also be used by social media platforms to identify and promptly remove suspicious posts. </p>
<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p>The biggest challenge in developing efficient monitoring algorithms is to create adequate training datasets. For instance, when classifying images algorithms need to be trained to pair images with a corresponding label – like “rhino horn”. </p>
<p>But for some rare species, and for many wildlife products, there is a complete lack of information that can be used to create training datasets, for example rhino horn powder. In cases like this, we aim for a less accurate result which requires less training data and improve the models with time as more data becomes available. </p>
<p>The advancement of the system will require working in close collaboration with social media platforms, while respecting ethical and privacy requirements. With time, success in curbing illegal wildlife trade on social media, and other digital platforms, will hopefully help to reduce poaching of species in the wild.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115021/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enrico Di Minin receives funding from the Academy of Finland. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christoph Fink is funded through a University of Helsinki grant to Enrico Di Minin.</span></em></p>Social media offers good conditions for wildlife trafficking to thrive.Enrico Di Minin, Researcher in Conservation Science, University of HelsinkiChristoph Fink, PhD Student, University of HelsinkiLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.