An Analysis of Online Wildlife Trade: A Situational Crime Prevention Approach

• In Event: Emerging Frontiers in Crime, Control, and Prevention

Abstract

The illegal trade of wildlife and wildlife products is valued in the billions of U.S. dollars each year.The Internet contributes to low detection rates by removing a human point in the sale chain, as it connects collectors with buyers directly. Online wildlife trade is assessed using both official seizure data and online advertisement data, suggesting means by which preventive intervention may be implemented. USFWS Seizure data from 2000-2018 was used to identify “hot products.” These hot products were systematically searched with advertisements indexed. An exhaustive descriptive analysis was performed on both the official seizure data and the online advertisements. The online ads were also subjected to a script analysis (Cornish, 1994) of the shipping techniques used by online wildlife traders to deconstruct the process and aid in developing points for potential intervention. The findings from this study present a novel understanding of how the open and deep webs are used to trade wildlife. This study serves as a foundation for further research examining successful points for intervention.

Author

• Tiffany Gentry Rogers, University of North Carolina Wilmington