Many species are being illegally caught in the wild and sold via the internet, but can this online trade be stopped?
Like many people, I've always fancied owning a tortoise. So, I open up my laptop to search for a chelonian chum. On the website Preloved, I quickly find a pair of tortoises for sale for £175. ‘One marginated tortoise and one spur-thighed [common tortoise], both female,’ the advert says. And ‘four years of age, both living happily together and in a 1.2m vivarium, feeding well on weeds in the summer and mixed greens in the winter.’
Sounds perfect. The advert gives the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Article 10 certificate number, required under EU regulations, but it doesn’t fit the format specified by Preloved. Is it genuine? I want to find out. Luckily, the website makes it simple to report any concerns about adverts you spot.
Preloved also provides a handy guide to Article 10 certificates and why you need one. There’s a list of the 50 most commonly traded protected species, which range from the common (tawny and little owls and otters) and the expected (African grey parrots and Hermann’s tortoises) to the exotic and potentially dangerous (reticulated pythons) and – you’d think – unethical (tigers and ocelots). But at least the information is there.
This story is from the March 2019 edition of BBC Wildlife.
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This story is from the March 2019 edition of BBC Wildlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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