Abstract
A dearth of information obscures the true scale of the global illegal trade in wildlife. Herein, we introduce an automated web crawling surveillance system developed to monitor reports on illegally traded wildlife. A resource for enforcement officials as well as the general public, the freely available website, http://www.healthmap.org/wildlifetrade, provides a customizable visualization of worldwide reports on interceptions of illegally traded wildlife and wildlife products. From August 1, 2010 to July 31, 2011, publicly available English language illegal wildlife trade reports from official and unofficial sources were collected and categorized by location and species involved. During this interval, 858 illegal wildlife trade reports were collected from 89 countries. Countries with the highest number of reports included India (n = 146, 15.6%), the United States (n = 143, 15.3%), South Africa (n = 75, 8.0%), China (n = 41, 4.4%), and Vietnam (n = 37, 4.0%). Species reported as traded or poached included elephants (n = 107, 12.5%), rhinoceros (n = 103, 12.0%), tigers (n = 68, 7.9%), leopards (n = 54, 6.3%), and pangolins (n = 45, 5.2%). The use of unofficial data sources, such as online news sites and social networks, to collect information on international wildlife trade augments traditional approaches drawing on official reporting and presents a novel source of intelligence with which to monitor and collect news in support of enforcement against this threat to wildlife conservation worldwide.
Highlights
The true worth of the illegal wildlife trade is unknown
While some data exist on the volume, scope and scale of the global wildlife trade, the current understanding of the network is largely inferred from data on legal import and exports recorded by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) treaty, which requires member nations to document global trade in endangered wildlife [4]
A 2010 study conducted by Rosen and Smith assessed the scope and scale of the worldwide illegal wildlife trade by examining 12 years of seizure records compiled by TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trademonitoring network
Summary
The true worth of the illegal wildlife trade is unknown. This multi-faceted and clandestine industry has disrupted fragile ecosystems and facilitated the spread of pathogens and novel infectious diseases in humans, domestic animals, and native wildlife [1,2]. Is the true global scale of the illegal wildlife trade unknown, and regional and local levels of wildlife trade are difficult to assess [5]. A 2010 study conducted by Rosen and Smith assessed the scope and scale of the worldwide illegal wildlife trade by examining 12 years of seizure records compiled by TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trademonitoring network. The study found 967 documented seizures of illegal wildlife and wildlife products representing vast species diversity and geographic scope. Factors such as inadequate infrastructure, corrupt officials, international crime networks, and a shortage of environmental conservation law enforcement officers affected individual nation’s seizure activity [6]
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