Published on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 by the lndependent/UK
Revealed: The Illegal Online Animal Trade
by Maxine Frith


They are marketed as the perfect birthday present for animal-loving children, or a classy addition to the image-conscious suburban home.

However, the products being sold on hundreds of internet sites are not soft toys or unusual knick knacks, but potentially-dangerous live animals from the world's most endangered species.

Gorillas, tigers, and chimps can be bought for as little as a few hundred pounds, despite international bans on their sale.

The illegal online trade in rare and exotic wildlife is now worth billions of pounds and sales are soaring, according to a new report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

In just one week, IFAW investigators found more than 9,000 live animals and products made from endangered species for sale on internet auction sites, chat rooms and classified pages, despite the fact that 70 per cent of the species and specimens were protected under law.

The scale of the trade is astonishing.

Want a gorilla in your backyard? It's yours for £4,500 from a classified ad on the internet - just come to London and pick it up, with no proof needed of any capacity or ability to look after such a beast.

Gorillas are among the most highly-endangered species on the planet and all commercial trade in them is prohibited under the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

They are potentially lethal and need expert care and treatment, yet IFAW found a British-based website selling a seven-year-old gorilla in January this year "due to relocation of its owner."

Giraffes have also been offered for sale. A US website, GotPetsOnline.com was offering a "sweet natured" two-year-old for sale for $15,000.

Experts are particularly concerned at the way monkeys are marketed and traded on the net.

At www.ad-mart.co.uk, in January, a Welsh trader was offering a pair of breeding cotton-headed tamarin monkeys for sale for £1,900.

When IFAW investigators approached the buyer, they were told they would not need any special licenses or documentation.

Yet the species is protected under CITES and any buyer would need to apply to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for special approval, as well as obtaining a Dangerous Wild Animals licence.

Other, American-based websites sell monkeys along with "cute" accessories such as nappies, feeding bottles, clothes and toys, adding to the impression that these are a slightly more lively version of a doll.

Traders in live primates call themselves "Monkey Moms" and the animals "monkids".

When the IFAW undercover investigators contacted some of the US traders, they were told it would be possible to export them to the UK - a blatant breach of EU law.

Experts are concerned that demand for monkeys and chimps is fueling the illegal capturing and trading of wild species.

Where there were two million chimpanzees in the wild a century ago, there are now fewer than 150,000 left.

As well as live animals, there is a booming market in illegal ivory, tiger skins and other products on the internet.

Phyllis Campbell-McRae, director of IFAW UK, said: "Trade on the internet is easy, cheap and anonymous. However, it is clear that unscrupulous traders and sophisticated criminal gangs are taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the web.

"The result is a cyber black market where the future of the world's rarest animals is being traded away. This situation must be tackled immediately by governments and website owners before it is too late."

She added: "Each one of us also has a responsibility to stop buying and selling wild animals and wildlife products. Trade in wildlife is driven by consumer demand, so when the buying stops the killing will too. Our message to online shoppers is simple - buying wildlife online is as damaging as killing it yourself."

Jim Knight, biodiversity minister, said: "We take the issue of wildlife crime in all its forms very seriously.

"The National Wildlife Crime Intelligence Unit is working closely with internet service providers to raise awareness of wildlife controls and to enhance intelligence gathering on wildlife crime.

The Metropolitan Police's Wildlife Crime Unit was also moved from a part time to a full time investigative department.

Andy Fisher, head of the unit, said: "Ten years ago, the issue wasn't really being taken seriously, but I think it's time has now come and we are really cracking down on it."

The animals facing extinction:

TIGERS

Threatened by poaching and loss of habitat, there are only about 5,000 tigers living in the wild; but thanks to the thriving trade in exotic pets, some 10,000 tigers live in captivity in the US. One US website advertised two-week old male and female tiger cubs for just $1,500 each.

RHINOS

All five species of rhino are threatened with extinction, thanks to the trade in rhino horns which are carved into ornaments or used in traditional Asian medicine. A website called "Vintage Louis Vuitton" offered a rhino footstool, but closed when IFAW asked for the necessary documents.

GORILLAS

The bushmeat trade, the captive live trade, and the loss of habitats have devastated the world's gorilla population, with only 650 mountain gorillas surviving in the wild. In January, an advert offered a gorilla for sale in London, "due to relocation of its owner." The price was £4,500.

SEA HORSES

At least 20 of the world's 33 known sea horse species face extinction, due to the trade of live animals for aquariums, and dried sea horses for use in Chinese medicine. IFAW found many skeletons for sale on eBay. One ad said: " This could be your last chance to own one of these little beauties."

© 2005 The Independent / UK

This makes me sick - beyond sick. That people can be doing this to wildlife due to their selfish compulsion to have an exotic "pet".
I have seen first-hand what happens to animals like this when their owner gets sick of them or can't handle them anymore. I spent more than 3 months at a rehabilitation project for apes in Thailand (see the cute little guy in my avatar pic), where animals that were confiscated from their owners by police were brought to be rehabilitated and re-released into the wild. All of them had been pets or tourist attractions - and understandably, many of them were mentally screwed up from their time spent in captivity. One female had even been beaten so severely by her owner that she had to have half a leg and half an arm amputated. Wild animals such as this are not suitable pets for so many reasons. It makes me so angry, as small projects such as the one in Thailand work tirelessly to try and undo the damage that people have done to these animals.

Other, American-based websites sell monkeys along with "cute" accessories such as nappies, feeding bottles, clothes and toys, adding to the impression that these are a slightly more lively version of a doll.

This TOTALLY disgusts me. As vegans/vegetarians, we often get accused of anthropomorphism by others (usually when we're in a discussion about animal emotions/suffering etc.) but this is a PRIME example of anthropomorphism - dressing up a monkey like it's a person.
The selfishness of wanting a monkey for a pet is ludicrous - people want them cos they're "cute" and "cuddly" and they "love" them. If they really loved them, they'd realise the best place for them to be is in the wild, in their natural habitat. What they also should realise is that for every 1 monkey/ape poached from the wild, it's estimated that 10 die in the process - the rest of the family members are shot, and often the baby will die in the commotion. :brood:

Everytime I see this thread I think about those e-pet type things.

Susykat, sounds like you've seen this unnecessary crap first hand, many thumbs up for helping out as you did, this practice of taking wild animals as pets is so wrong, and that's terrible about the one having amputations from being beaten, very sad. You're right in pointing out that many family members die for every baby taken, and many babies die soon thereafter. For the chimp that survives captivity in the zoo, dozens will have died.

It definitely is tragic to see it first-hand, but also encouraging that there are people out there who are deeply committed to saving a species. It's so tragic that species are being killed off for the most frivolous of reasons. It's largely due to the current individualistic mind-frame of society - but if/when that will stop I don't know. I guess education is the key? Part of the work i did in Thailand with the apes (gibbons) was educational work with tourists. Teaching them about the gibbons, threats to their welfare, how they are poached and how they are treated as pets and tourist attractions. Alot of the tourists were very thankful, as they had no idea that the animals were treated like that (as unbelievable as that may seem) and I know that this educational work definitely prevented these tourists from participating in the use of gibbons as tourist attractions.

This is awful!!! I can't believe that people could do such a thing! THis is... just... downright wrong. This is like finding out that it's possible to buy slaves online still.