Regulating Internet Trade in CITES Species

Wild collection of species that are or may be endangered by collection from the wild for international commerce is regulated under the The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for 176 member States. Internet commerce is a relatively a new route for such trade and is rarely included in CITES statistics. By comparing information from an international on-line auction system with official CITES records on international trade, we discovered that only around 10% of the specimens of cacti listed on CITES Appendix I traded in 2010 were even potentially legal. Clearly, such trade over the Internet easily bypasses CITES trade regulations and should be monitored in future to ensure the effective protection of CITES listed species.