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Cold-Blooded Networks: Exploring Illicit Reptile Trade and Organized Crime in the Digital Age
Wed, Nov 12, 12:30 to 1:50pm, Independence Salon G - M4Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel
Abstract/Description
The expansion of online marketplaces and digital platforms has transformed the landscape of the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), particularly with regard to reptiles and reptile-derived products. This thematic panel brings together five interdisciplinary studies that examine the shifting dynamics of IWT in the digital age, with a focus on networked trade, organized crime, and data-driven interventions. Leveraging cutting-edge methods—including machine learning, large language models, latent class analysis, and network and script analysis—these papers uncover the typologies of online sellers, identify strategic points for network disruption, and trace trafficking pathways from source to consumer. Together, the presentations offer a granular view into the operations of illegal entrepreneurs in reptile and other markets and provide assessments of the role of known organized crime groups in global wildlife trafficking. Through the fusion of computational techniques and criminological frameworks, this panel offers new insights and actionable strategies to confront one of the most pressing conservation and criminal justice challenges of our time.
Sub Unit
Individual Presentations
Scaling the Web: Unraveling Online Reptile Leather Trade Networks with Machine Learning and Network Analysis - Josh Lang, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Gohar Petrossian, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Bryan Lieu, Macaulay Honors College; Kevin Bernstein, Macaulay Honors College; Ulhas Gondhali, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York; Julia von Ferber, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Juliana Barbosa, NYU Tandon School of Engineering; Juliana Freire, NYU Tandon School of Engineering; Eduarda Ramos, New York University; Sunandan Chakraborty, Indiana University Indianapolis; Kinshuk Sharma, Indiana University Indianapolis; Spencer Roberts, University of Miami; Jennifer Jacquet, University of Miami
Using Latent Class Analysis to Develop Typologies of Online Sellers of Potentially Illicit Animal Leather Products - Ulhas Gondhali, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York; Yuna Kim, University of South Florida; Gohar Petrossian, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Gabriel Riskevich, Macaulay Honors College; Josh Lang, John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Juliana Barbosa, NYU Tandon School of Engineering; Juliana Freire, NYU Tandon School of Engineering; Eduarda Ramos, New York University; Sunandan Chakraborty, Indiana University Indianapolis; Kinshuk Sharma, Indiana University Indianapolis; Spencer Roberts, University of Miami; Jennifer Jacquet, University of Miami
The Trade in Reptiles in the Digital Era: Illegal Entrepreneurs and Cold-Blooded Creatures - Daan van Uhm, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
A Script Analysis of the Illegal Trafficking of Snakes as Exotic Pets - Lorea Arenas, Universidad de Extremadura; Nerea Marteache, California State University, San Bernardino
An Assessment of the Involvement of Known Organized Crime Groups in Global Wildlife Trafficking Activities - Monique Sosnowski, Farmingdale State College SUNY