Social networks and the illegal trade of wild birds: a call of attention

LÓPEZ, F. G.; REBOLLO, M. E.; SANTILLÁN, M. A.; BERKUNSKY, I.; GRANDE, J. M.

Congreso; North American Ornithological Conference VII; 2020

Globally, social networks grew linearly in recent years. Facebook is the most popular with more than 1650 million users. Internet commerce is growing in different areas, social networks are an example of that. This trade can hide illegal activities such as wildlife traffic. We searched for "wild birds buy/sell groups" on Facebook in Argentina. We found 128 groups of bird trade (79 public and 49 closed), with 96,785 users (756.1±1016.4; 3-5,569). In 18 of 23 provinces, we detect birds trading groups. A deeper analysis of the second largest group located in La Pampa province (our research institute is located there) we found buy/sell offers of 63 bird species of 22 families. The exotic bird trade represents 17%, the rest are native and they are protected by several provincial/nationals laws ant their trade is illegal. Almost 60% are species native from the province, whose capture could be local. The high offers and interest for threatened species (especially songbirds and parrot), the prices (U$S 25±44; 0-328) and the ease use that Facebook offers could contribute to increasing this illegal trade, generating an impact in bird populations, particularly serious for endangered species. The Internet has radically changed the way we see and the way we interact with the world. This work highlights the widespread use of Facebook for illegal trade of wildlife in Argentina. A strong intervention by international, national and local wildlife authorities to control illegal trade in social networks should be necessary as well as other similar studies around the world.