eBay sales as a source of wildlife species endangerment Claudia Bodnar & Sean Bothner Department of Biology, St. Mary’s University, 14500 Bannister Road SE, Calgary, AB T2X 1Z4 [email protected] & [email protected] Figure 1. Endangered Jamaican Swallowtail ( homerus) found for sale on eBay (http://www.earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?gr=I&sp=50). . Various countries were recorded being involved in In general, it is a shame to see threatened

30 Results the trade of , the most popular and endangered species being traded online. This Introduction 26 25 occurring in Europe (79 sales) and Asia (14 sales) occurs simply because eBay does not have the Wildlife trade is considered the trade of non 21 20 (Figure 2) man power and knowledge to provide assistance domesticated species. Endangered species are 16 15 . those which are at risk for extinction which can be Observed specimens were sold from a range of against this on a global level. 10 6 prices, the most popular falling into the $0-50 (36 On eBay’s site, sales for that are caused by either natural causes or human 5 3 3 4 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 specimens) and $50-100 (34 specimens) range

Number of of Number (#) specimens threatened are listed alongside entirely involvement. IUCN Red List provides a conservation 0 (Figure 3) status on species globally as well as other known innocuous auctions. This gives both buyers and . The majority of sales observed were seen to be information on the species. CITES is an sellers plausible deniability if they ever were to Country of ad origin more common in less prosperous countries, such as be questioned of their actions on eBay and international organization that regulates wildlife Figure 2. Locations of ad origin for examined specimens recorded. Russia, falling into the 10-20k class (Figure 4) whether or not they are aware of their illegal trade and its impact on flora and fauna. Much of . 40 The majority of specimens of threatened species attempts to trade endangered species. The the e-commerce of the species listed by these 36 35 34 offered were either endangered (59 cases) or near- logistics of eBay’s site means that they must international organizations occur on surface 30 threatened (25 cases) according to the IUCN Red entirely rely on vendors to self identify species websites, such as eBay (Humair et al. 2015). 25 List (Figure 5) before they are sold; for experts this should not eBay is an online site which allows people to 20 . 18 out of 106 specimens observed, 17%, were be a problem, however human error does occur, purchase and sell items online. However, eBay is 15 14 12 listed as being protected by CITES especially when identifying more obscure species 10 not a specialized outlet and is not equipped to 10

Number of specimens (#) specimens of Number and misidentification can transpire. monitor all the transactions that are being 5 Discussion The truth is that endangered and threatened processed on their site daily. As long as account 0 0-50 50-100 100-150 150-1,000 1,000+ The most popular countries observed for specimen species are being traded and purchased online holders provide certain information of the item Price ($ CAD) trade of endangered species was seen in Spain (26 and the prices they are being listed for will never which they are selling, their ad will be posted. The Figure 3. Price ranges for observed specimens recorded. sales) and Russia (21 sales) (Figure 2). Many of these live up to their priceless and irreplaceable value. necessary information required is very vague and 40 39 sales were observed coming from the same individual There are many organizations in place dedicated ads require bare minimum information in order to 35 seller. The most expensive specimen, Papilio to the protection of endangered species globally, be posted. Illegal wildlife trade is the fourth most 30 28 homerus (Figure 1), was offered for ~ $13,988.00 CAD such as the IUCN and CITES, however, if these 25 lucrative black market on earth and is one of the and the most expensive for beetle specimen, organizations are the only ones making efforts to hardest markets to control due to its expansive 20 15 14 Cerambyx longicorn (Figure 6), was offered for prevent the illegal trade of endangered species, it 11 nature (Harrison et al. 2016). 10 $340.00 CAD (Figure 6). Less prosperous countries will never cease. This kind of conservation effort 5 Numberof Sales Observed (#) 2 2 have observed increased wildlife trafficking and rely requires people all around the world, including 0 on international conservation efforts to battle these companies and not just governments, to step up Methods 0-10k 10-20k 20-30k 30-40k 40-50k 50k+ We started with searching through eBay ads from GDP per capita of vendor Countries ($ USD) attempts on endangered wildlife as the local and make active choices in making a difference in May 2019-March 2020, examining beetle and Figure 4. GDP per capita in $USD for countries observed. government focuses their attention on the direct protecting species to ensure their survival. needs of their people (i.e. food and shelter) (Figure 4) 59 butterfly collectibles. We combed through pages of 60 ads to select those sales which are illegal (illegal (Adams et al. 2004). There is a variety of different Acknowledgements 50 meaning selling endangered specimens). All data levels of endangered species being offered/ traded We would like to thank Dr. Chilton and Dr. 40 found was recorded into an Excel spreadsheet to online, the most at risk being endangered species with McLean for providing many resources to aid in 30 59 cases (Figure 5). include the following: date found, item description 25 the creation and development of this project 20

of ad/specimen, eBay item #, account holder, Numberof species (#) 14 and for all their support and encouragement 10 6 throughout. location, IUCN Red List/CITES status, price ($ CAD) 2 0 and how many pages we searched. Quantitative Data deficient Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically 1. Adams, W.M., Aveling, R., Brockington,Literature D., Dickson, B., Elliott, J., Hutton, J., Roe, Cited D., Vira, B. and Wolmer, W. 2004. Biodiversity conservation Endangered sdfsdfsand the eradication of poverty. Science [Internet]. [cited 2020 March 17]; 306(5699): 1146-1149. Available from: analysis was completed to examine overall data IUCN Red List Status sdfsdfshttps://doi.org/10.1126/science.1097920. 2. Harrison, J.R., Roberts, D.L. Hernandez-Castro, J. 2016. Assessing the Extent and Nature of Wildlife Trade on the Dark Web. Figure 6. Cerambyx longicorn is an endangered species found for sale on eBay sdfsdfsConservative Letters [Internet]. [cited 2020 March 23]; 20(4): 900-904. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12707. collected (106 specimens recorded). 3. Humair, F, Humair, L, Kuhn, F, Kueffer, C. 2015. E‐commerce trade in invasive plants. Conservation Biology [Internet]. [cited 2020 March 3]; Figure 5. IUCN Red List status of specimens recorded. (https://www.mindenpictures.com/search/preview/cerambyx-longicorn-cerambyx-cerdo/0_00494189.html). sdfsdfs29(6): 1658-1665. Available from https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12579.