Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China
Abstract The sale of wild animals, including protected species, may relate to regional differences in socio‐politics, culture, and economic development. A better understanding of how these factors affect the illegal wildlife trade is therefore necessary to optimize the deployment of conservation res...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Conservation Science and Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.161 |
| _version_ | 1818132444878995456 |
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| author | Yun‐Chun Ye Wen‐Hua Yu Chris Newman Christina D. Buesching Ya‐li Xu Xiao Xiao David W. Macdonald Zhao‐Min Zhou |
| author_facet | Yun‐Chun Ye Wen‐Hua Yu Chris Newman Christina D. Buesching Ya‐li Xu Xiao Xiao David W. Macdonald Zhao‐Min Zhou |
| author_sort | Yun‐Chun Ye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The sale of wild animals, including protected species, may relate to regional differences in socio‐politics, culture, and economic development. A better understanding of how these factors affect the illegal wildlife trade is therefore necessary to optimize the deployment of conservation resources and policing. To evaluate these factors in relation to the trade‐in protected animals as pets, we surveyed China's popular consumer‐to‐consumer website, Taobao.com (analogous to eBay), and found that over 70,000 individual live parrots and turtles (totaling 46 and 49 protected species, respectively) were sold in just 150 days. Using analyses that attempted to account for species richness estimation and autocorrelation effects, we identified that regional economics promoted the occurrence and extent of pet sales. The provenance of these traded animals was ambiguous, but their vast numbers raise two concerns: if any proportion was sourced illegally from the wild, it is of conservation concern; whereas any bred illegally in captivity raise animal welfare concerns, because this would be unregulated. In the context of rapid economic development in China, it is thus important to reform the legislation that currently allows these commonly traded pet species to slip through the net intended to police animal welfare and illegal animal trading. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T08:36:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9fa4a547dbdd46658e5cd80920aff8ff |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2578-4854 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T08:36:56Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Conservation Science and Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-9fa4a547dbdd46658e5cd80920aff8ff2022-12-22T01:14:21ZengWileyConservation Science and Practice2578-48542020-03-0123n/an/a10.1111/csp2.161Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in ChinaYun‐Chun Ye0Wen‐Hua Yu1Chris Newman2Christina D. Buesching3Ya‐li Xu4Xiao Xiao5David W. Macdonald6Zhao‐Min Zhou7Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education) China West Normal University Nanchong ChinaCollege of Life Science Guangzhou University Guangzhou ChinaWildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UKWildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UKSchool of Land and Resources China West Normal University Nanchong ChinaLab Animal Research Center Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Wuhan ChinaWildlife Conservation Research Unit, The Recanati‐Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UKKey Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education) China West Normal University Nanchong ChinaAbstract The sale of wild animals, including protected species, may relate to regional differences in socio‐politics, culture, and economic development. A better understanding of how these factors affect the illegal wildlife trade is therefore necessary to optimize the deployment of conservation resources and policing. To evaluate these factors in relation to the trade‐in protected animals as pets, we surveyed China's popular consumer‐to‐consumer website, Taobao.com (analogous to eBay), and found that over 70,000 individual live parrots and turtles (totaling 46 and 49 protected species, respectively) were sold in just 150 days. Using analyses that attempted to account for species richness estimation and autocorrelation effects, we identified that regional economics promoted the occurrence and extent of pet sales. The provenance of these traded animals was ambiguous, but their vast numbers raise two concerns: if any proportion was sourced illegally from the wild, it is of conservation concern; whereas any bred illegally in captivity raise animal welfare concerns, because this would be unregulated. In the context of rapid economic development in China, it is thus important to reform the legislation that currently allows these commonly traded pet species to slip through the net intended to police animal welfare and illegal animal trading.https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.161animal welfareAsiaconservationE‐commercepetswildlife trade |
| spellingShingle | Yun‐Chun Ye Wen‐Hua Yu Chris Newman Christina D. Buesching Ya‐li Xu Xiao Xiao David W. Macdonald Zhao‐Min Zhou Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China Conservation Science and Practice animal welfare Asia conservation E‐commerce pets wildlife trade |
| title | Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China |
| title_full | Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China |
| title_fullStr | Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China |
| title_short | Effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in China |
| title_sort | effects of regional economics on the online sale of protected parrots and turtles in china |
| topic | animal welfare Asia conservation E‐commerce pets wildlife trade |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.161 |
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