The trade in wildlife is at least as old as recorded history. Early civilizations documented commercial transactions involving wildlife, a practice that has continued uninterrupted ever since. As worldwide demand has increased for wildlife products, the populations of some species have dramatically declined. The illegal trade of species represents one of the largest illicit markets in the world, with participation on a local and global scale. The International Criminal Police Organization, states that the illegal trade in fauna and flora constitutes the third largest illegal trade in the world, and this amounts to 17 billion dollars per year.

 

The impact of wildlife trafficking goes beyond the threat posed to the survival of select species. The implications that such trafficking has on the social and economic framework are serious: it puts national security at risk due to its close relationship with other illicit activities, slows the growth of local communities, weakens governments and represents serious risks to global health.

 

In México, the yellow-headed parakeet (Amazona oratrix), the scarlet macaw (Ara macao), the green macaw (Ara militaris), the sulfur-breasted toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), the howler monkey (Aulluata palliata), the red-knee tarantula (Brachypelma smithi), the black iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata), the green iguana (Iguana iguana), the rattlesnake (Crotalus sp.) and the Harris hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) are among the most commercialized species of fauna. And in the case of flora, species of cacti of the genus Mammilaria, species of palms of the genus Chamaedora, as well as a large number of species of the orchid family.

 

Mexico has ratified the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species. In addition, the illegal commercialization of species is sanctioned in article 420 of the Mexican Federal Penal Code. In addition to this, the Official Mexican Standard (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010) lists the endemic species of Mexico in risk categories, according to their distribution and population.

But the persecution of this conduct, at different levels of government, induces, as in all illegal traffic, new strategies of distribution, transport and sale, so that the sale and illegal purchase of species ventured into the digitization of crime, by means of social networks. In 2008, the International Fund for Animal Welfare carried out an investigation on the trade of species through the internet worldwide, but due to the scarcity of data on illegal sale on the internet, Mexico was not included in the world statistical study.

 

Fortunately, there are some initiatives that aim to combat this: Facebook and the World Wildlife Fund have been working together to tackle the illegal wildlife trade by detecting and eliminating the illicit activities that fuel the trade in wildlife and animal products. As part of this effort, Facebook released a new alert message informing users about illegal wildlife trafficking by entering certain search words.

 

Education on biodiversity an endangered species is a priority, but success in combating this illegal activity will not only depend on awareness and recognition of the factors at work. The large scale that it has reached in recent years requires cooperative and collaborative efforts, nationally and internationally, between the different government bodies, non-governmental organizations and necessarily civil society.

 

Bibliography:

IFAW. 2008. Killing with Keystrokes, an Investigation of the Illegal Wildlife Trade on World Wide Web, United States.

INTERPOL. 2008. Environmental Crime. Wildlife, International Police (INTERPOL), Lyon, France. https://www.interpol.int/

Nicolas, A. 2020. New Facebook alert informs users about illegal wildlife trade. World Wildlife Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/

SEMARNAT. 2013. Tráfico ilegal de vida silvestre. Cuadernos de divulgación ambiental. Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Mexico.

Kell billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) https://www.ecoregistros.org/site/imagen.php?id=137794/