Illegal Wildlife Trade on Facebook: Tiger Parts, Shark Fins, and Seahorses Sold Online

Illegal Wildlife Trade on Facebook

• 🐅 Tiger body parts, including teeth and bones, are being illegally sold on Facebook, with one seller even offering live tiger cubs.
• 🦈 Shark fins are being sold for approximately £30 per kilo, and pangolin scales from Laos are offered for traditional medicine.
• 🌊 Dried seahorses, used for food or medicine, are also available for sale in the UK, with one seller offering a pack of 13 for over £60.

Operation Thunder and Global Crackdown

• 🌍 Authorities worldwide participated in Operation Thunder, seizing nearly 30,000 live animals and over 2,000 live transfers.
• ⚖️ Over 230 of these seizures were found to be in breach of regulations, highlighting the scale of illegal wildlife trafficking.
• 💔 The suffering behind this trade is described as heart-wrenching, with organized crime deeply involved.

Social Media's Role in Wildlife Trafficking

• 📱 Social media, particularly Facebook, is increasingly driving the illegal wildlife trade, making it easy to find and purchase endangered species.
• 🌐 Sellers operate globally, from China and Laos to Indonesia and the UK, catering to demand for traditional items, medicines, and cultural artifacts.
• ⚠️ Some customers may not realize they are breaking the law, especially when items are legal in other parts of the world.

The Impact on Endangered Species

• 📉 Seahorses are particularly vulnerable, with over 100 million caught and traded annually, and are worth their dry weight in silver, potentially leading to extinction within 20 years.
• 💰 The global trade in endangered species is estimated to be worth £17 billion annually, with traffickers using the same routes as those involved in guns and drugs.
• 🚨 Penalties for trafficking and buying endangered species can include significant fines or up to seven years in prison in the UK, under laws like the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Advice to the Public

• 🚫 The message to the public is clear: do not buy endangered species, even as seemingly innocuous trinkets like a seahorse key fob.
• 🔗 Purchasing such items, regardless of size, contributes to a vast criminal enterprise and pushes species closer to extinction.