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Wildlife Trade Explodes: Over 100K Species Affected
30 Oct
Summary
- Over 100,000 species are traded globally, far exceeding prior estimates.
- Online exotic pet trade has boomed, creating monitoring challenges.
- Under-regulation creates loopholes, allowing species to be laundered legally.
A new study published in Science Advances has discovered that the number of plant and animal species involved in global trade significantly exceeds previous estimates, with over 107,000 species identified. This figure is more than double the prior estimate of approximately 50,000 species. The research highlights substantial gaps in global assessments, particularly concerning the rapidly evolving online exotic pet and ornamental trades.
Professor Alice Hughes, the study's lead author, stated that current monitoring methods are insufficient to capture the true dimensions of modern wildlife commerce. She emphasized that this underestimation poses a major risk to species' survival. The study's findings include that the number of traded butterfly species alone surpasses the previously estimated total for all traded terrestrial invertebrates.
The wildlife trade encompasses diverse sectors, including fisheries, timber, fashion, and the sale of species as ornaments, ranging from sustainable practices to those driving extinctions. Researchers note that assessing legal versus illegal trade is difficult, and a lack of data hinders efforts to ensure trade is sustainable, safe, and legal, as agreed by nearly 200 countries. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) monitors about 40,000 species, but this system is too slow to adapt to new threats, leaving many vulnerable species unmonitored.
