TRAFFICB R I E F I N G
Xiao Yu and Wang Jia

MOVING TARGETS: TRACKING
ONLINE SALES OF ILLEGAL WILDLIFEPRODUCTS IN CHINA

February 2015

KEY POINTS:• More than half of
the illegal products
offered comprise ivory
items. Regular removalof advertisementsof concern has led
to a dramatic andsustained drop in
the number of suchadvertisements
appearing online.
• However, thedramatic drop should
not give cause forcomplacency: their
number still remains
high, while of particularnote and concern isthe rising incidences of
online sales of illegal
goods through social
media forums.
• New avenues need
to be explored tointerdict illegal trade,such as co-operation
with logistics andfinance companies
who ultimately are
involved in facilitating
the online transactions.

Ivory product in China

BACKGROUND
The Internet has revolutionized communications world-wide, providing amechanism for information dissemination and a medium for collaborationand interaction between individuals, regardless of their geographic
location. As of 1st July 2014, according to “Internet Live Stats” there weremore than 2.9 billion internet users, just over 40% of the world population(see Figure 1). China, with more than 641 million internet users, has theworld’s biggest online community1.

Figure 1: Internet Users in the world
As the number of internet users rises, e-commerce is booming. According
to a February 2013 report on eMarketer, the value of Business to Consumer(B2C) trade in China was about 110 billion USD in 2012, with online trade(B2C and Consumer to consumer (C2C)) estimated to rise to USD 274.6
billion by 20142. Given the high volume of e-commerce transactions andsales, there is an occurrence of illicit trade activities. The internet allows
those involved in criminal online activities to interact under cover, hide
1 http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/ (accessed 1st July 2014)

BR IEFI NG PAPER• Regular online
monitoring by TRAFFIC,
particularly from2012 onwards, ofChinese-language
e-commerce platforms
and websites hasrevealed a large
number of online
advertisements forillegal wildlife goods.

2 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009649 (accessed 5th February 2013)1

their true identities and carry out their onlinetransactions relatively unseen. Therefore,
website monitoring is vital to understand thelevel and scope of illegal wildlife trade online.
In 2006, TRAFFIC undertook an 8-month surveyof selected Chinese language websites andplatforms in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong
Kong SAR. Initial results revealed that significant
quantities of endangered species products
were being sold through the internet: 332
ivory products3 and 193 rhino horn products
were detected. Clearly, comprehensive online
monitoring of online sales was warranted. In
2010, TRAFFIC began routinely surveying online
markets, initially through simply counting
the number of advertisements selling illegal
wildlife products. The results were shared withlaw enforcement agencies through workshops
held in conjunction with China’s Management
Authority for CITES (Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna andFlora) in 2010 and 2011. These initial studies
highlighted the need for a more thoroughunderstanding of the trade in order to improvethe methods to detect and deter it. In late2011, a comprehensive programme of online
monitoring in China began, with the resultsroutinely shared with website and platform
managers and with enforcement agencies
such as the National Forest Police Bureau.
TRAFFIC has also carried out regular training of
e-commerce professionals, covering a range of
relevant issues, including the latest code words
used to conceal illegal transactions, changes inlegislation, and species identification.

MARKET MONITORINGBRI EF ING PAPER

E-commerce platforms and websites:
In January 2012, TRAFFIC began closely tracking
15 selected websites for five key illegal wildlife
products (ivory, rhino horn, tiger bone, hawksbill
shells and pangolin scales), and routinely
searching for 12 code words known to be used
as cover for these illegal products. The scopeof monitoring has been continually expanded
and adapted through the addition of new
products, websites and particularly new codewords. Continual adaptation is necessary as
illegal dealers have expanded the range of codewords used to describe their products, largely
in response to the rising number of terms being
blocked and related advertisements being
3 Although limited legal ivory trade exists in China, online trading in ivory2

is not permitted and is thus illegal.

deleted, owing to TRAFFIC’s feedback to website
managers (Table 1). For example, initially, theonly code words used online for ivory were
“象牙, XY, xiangya”; by September 2014, there
were already 22 code words for ivory, including
terms for ivory such as ”African materials, yellow
materials, white plastic, jelly”. In total, TRAFFIC
has currently identified at least 64 code words
for these monitored illegal wildlife products.
As of the end of September 2014, TRAFFIC
continues to routinely monitor 25 e-commerce
and antique selling websites every month foreight specific wildlife products (ivory, rhino horn,
Tiger bone, hawksbill shells, pangolin scales,
leopard bones, Saiga horn and Hornbill casques),
searching for 64 terms used to describe illegal
products. In the beginning, TRAFFIC’s experts
manually searched for product names andrespective code words on monitored websites
and recorded findings in a database. Data werethen screened to remove duplications and toverify adverts.
Recently, TRAFFIC started applying automatedsearching and screening methods. The
monthly total number of illegal wildlife productadvertisements (TWPA) and the number of
new wildlife products advertisements (NWPA)
are recorded. Every code word is searchedindividually on each website, and the results
recorded (including web links, title, description
and seller), which are then sent separately toeach website/platform owner to allow them todelete the respective posts. As a result of thisfeedback, several website/platform managers
block certain code words so that they canno longer be used to advertise products, but
websites managers cannot block all code words
because some of them are often used for legal
products. The combined monthly monitoring
results are also sent to relevant enforcement
agencies.
Certain characteristics help to distinguish fakefrom genuine wildlife products, e.g. throughexamination of written product descriptions
and images posted online, particularly those
involving ivory, rhino horn, hawksbill shell,pangolin scale, hornbill casque and saiga horn.
With advertisements for Tiger and leopard
bones, where it is difficult to distinguish fakes
from genuine products visually, the seller’s
detailed description is used as a basis for
informed judgment. It is also recognized that

Table 1: Evolution of TRAFFIC’s online and e-commerce monitoring (2012 – September 2014)
No. ofNo. ofwebsites

products

2012.1

15

5

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS

92012.524

5Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS

12

2012.7

24

6

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB

20

2012.824

7

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB, SH

30

2012.10

24

7

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB, SH

37

2013.1

24

8

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB, SH, HC

40

2013.725

8

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB, SH, HC

57

2014.625

8

Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB, SH, HC

64

2014.925

8Ivory, RH, TB, HS, PS, LB, SH, HC

64

Time

Products*

No. of key words for
all products*Rhino horn=RH, Tiger bone=TB, hawksbill shells=HS, pangolin scales=PS, leopard bones=LB, Saiga
horn=SH, Hornbill casque=HC

In January
TRAFFIC discovered
almost 30,000 advertisements
for e-comfive illegal wildlife
Table
1: 2012,Evolutionof TRAFFIC’s
online andproducts on the 15 websites surveyed (Figure 2). This figure rose to more than 50,000 in the next
merce
monitoring (January 2012 – September 2014)
two months but dropped again in April 2012 to around 30,000 after TRAFFIC contacted andshared the monitoring results with website managers, several of whom immediately deleted theidentified advertisements. Thereafter the number of TWPA once again rose, as TRAFFIC began tomonitor more websites (24 from May 2012) and additional products (Leopard bones from July
2012, Saiga horn from August 2012 and hornbill casque from January 2013), while the number ofcode words searched also increased to 37 by October 2014. Overall, the TWPA remained
relatively steady because of the increasing efforts by website managers to block various codewords and remove offending advertisements.

In January 2012, TRAFFIC discovered almost
30,000 advertisements for five illegal wildlife
products on the 15 websites surveyed (Figure2).
This figure rose to more than 50,000 in the
Figure 2: Number of total illegal wildlife product advertisements (TWPA) in monitored
Chinese-language(January 2012-September
2014)
next
two websites
monthsbut dropped
again in April
2012 to around 30,000 after TRAFFIC contacted
and shared the monitoring results with website
managers, several of whom immediately deleted
the identified advertisements. Thereafter thenumber of TWPA once again rose, as TRAFFIC
began to monitor more websites (24 from May
2012) and additional products (Leopard bones
from July 2012, Saiga horn from August 2012 andhornbill casque from January 2013), while thenumber of code words searched also increased to
37 by October 2014. Overall, the TWPA remained
70000
60000
50000

relatively steady because of the increasing efforts
by website managers to block various code words
and remove offending advertisements.
TRAFFIC’s ongoing training, guidance and sharing
of information with managers of websites
contributed to a steady and significant drop in
the number of TWPA in the first half of 2013: it
fell sharply to fewer than 10,000 advertisements
and has remained there ever since, with only
slight variance. This drop is remarkable, as thescope of the monitoring has been increasing
continuously during that time (see Table 1), but
is still problematic given that it concerns highly
endangered or threatened species. Nevertheless,the demand for illegally traded wildlife products
could not be reduced by removing advertisementsfrom e-commerce platforms. It also has to beacknowledged that there are transactions ofillegal wildlife products, which were not captured
by TRAFFIC’s monitoring. This indicates that
trade volumes of illegal wildlife products on
e-commerce platforms might be even higher.
A more accurate reflection of the levels andtrends within the online illegal wildlife trade isprovided through the number of new wildlife
products advertisements (NWPA) posted online
each month. The NWPA removes the influenceof old advertisements that have already beenrecorded meaning new trade trends can beobserved more quickly (Figure 3). Following
TRAFFIC’s monitoring and feedback to website
managers resulting in advertisement removal,
the NWPA fell dramatically to around 1500 from
July 2012 and has remained around that levelever since, despite some variation caused by the
introduction of additional website and code word
monitoring.

4500
4000
3500
3000

40000

2500

30000

2000

20000
10000
0

1500
1000
500
0

BRI EF ING PAPER

sellers may use images that do not represent theactual products on offer, while not all consumers
are able to identify genuine products, so someadvertisements may erroneously be included
within the statistics as representing illegal
wildlife products, although advertisements forclearly fake products are excluded from theresults. TRAFFIC has also developed protocols
for dealing with duplicate information—when
advertisements
the assame
products
appearerroneously be included withinfor
the statistics
representing
illegal wildlife products,
althoughon
advertisements for clearly fake products are excluded from the results. TRAFFIC has also
severaldifferent websites, often referring back todeveloped protocols for dealing with duplicate information—when advertisements for the samethesame
In thesecases,
duplicateproducts
appear on dealers.
several different websites,
often referring
back to thethesame dealers.
In thesecases, the duplicate information will be counted as a single data point.
information will be counted as a single data point.

Figure 3: Number of monthly new wildlife products adFigure 2: Number of total illegal wildlife product adBecause of the rising number of websites, products and code words used in monitoring, direct
vertisements(NWPA) (January 2012-September 2014)
vertisements(TWPA)
in monitored
Chinese-language
TRAFFIC’songoing training,
guidanceand sharing of information
with managers of websites
ledcomparison
between different months is not possible. TRAFFIC therefore developed an index 4
websites(January2014)
toa steady andsignificant 2012-September
drop in the number of TWPAin the first half of 2013: it fell sharply
to on the NWPA per product per website to compare trends in illegal online wildlife trade
based

fewer than 10,000 advertisements and has remained there ever since. This is remarkable, as
the 4).
(Figurescope of the monitoring has been increasing continuously during that time (see Table 1), but is3
still problematic given that it concerns highly endangered or threatened species.
Figure 4: Number of monthly new wildlife advertisements per products per websites (January
2012 - September 2014)

1500
1000
500
0

Because of the rising number of websites,
Of the eight monitored products, ivory remains
products and code words used in monitoring,the most frequently advertised, generally
Becausedirectof the risingnumber of websites,
products and codewords used inmonitoring, direct comprising over half of the new advertisements
comparison
betweendifferent
monthscomparison between different months is not possible. TRAFFIC therefore developed an index 4
is not possible. TRAFFIC therefore developed
posted each month (Figure 5).
based on the NWPA per product per website to compare trends in illegal online wildlife trade(Figure an4). index based on the NWPA per product per
website to compare trends in illegal online
At the beginning of the survey there were 57
Figure 4: Number of monthly new wildlife advertisements per products per websites (January
wildlife trade (Figure 4).
new advertisements for ivory products per2012 - September 2014)
website. This peaked at 136 in March 2012,50
then decreased to 39 in July 2012, following the45
40
public declaration by the 15 leading e-commerce
35
sellers. Following this development, the30
index fluctuated between 20 and 50 for the25
20
next 24 months, averaging around 35 new15
advertisements for ivory products on each of
105
the monitored websites.
-

Social Media:
Figure 4: Number of monthly new wildlife advertise-Starting at 19 new advertisements per product per website in January 2012, the index peaked atments
per websites(January2012
45 in March2012 perbeforeproducts
sharply decreasing
to 11 in July 2012
where it has
been-at or below until
September
2014)
September
2014.

Starting
19 new
advertisements
perproduct
The dramatic
four-foldat
decreasefrom July2012 occurred shortly aftera workshop
held on 23rd
June 2012,by the National
Forest Police
Bureau theand in index
collaboration
with China CITES
perconvened
websitein January
2012,
peaked4

at 45 in March 2012 before sharply decreasing
to 11 in July 2012 where it has been at or below
until September 2014.

BRI EF ING PAPER

The index is calculated as: NWPA of one month/the number of species *the number of websites monitored by
TRAFFIC at this month

In March 2014, TRAFFIC began research into therising use of social media platforms to sell illegal
wildlife products. Initial researches revealed
dealers release photos and information about
illegal wildlife products in order to attract andinteract with potential customers. In contrast
to posted advertisements on regular websites,
which can be seen by all visitors, social media
audiences can be selected by dealers and are
generally based on personal introductions. This
privacy means that sellers are better protected
and monitoring is more challenging.

The dramatic four-fold decrease from July 2012
occurred shortly after a workshop held on 23rd
June 2012, convened by the National Forest Police
Bureau and in collaboration with China CITES
Some social media dealers use “agents” to extend
Management Authority and TRAFFIC, where 15
their audiences. Agents re-post informationof the leading e-commerce sellers operating in
about illegal wildlife products onto their own
Management
Authority and TRAFFIC,
whereTaobao,
15 of the leading
sellers operating in
China, including
Alibaba,ande-commerce
Tencent,socialmedia platform and, if someone in their
China, including Alibaba, Taobao, and Tencent, signed a declaration stating they hadasigned a declaration stating they had a zerozero-tolerance policy towards their services being used to conduct illegal wildlife trading.
circle wants to buy the product(s), the agent buys
tolerance
policytowards
theirindex
servicesbeing
usedfive and 10 until
Followingthat publicdeclaration,
the NWPA
has fluctuatedbetweenit from the dealer and resells it at a higher priceto conduct
wildlife
trading.
September
2014; or illegal
around 1500
new advertisements
per Following
month across thethat
25 monitored sites.
to the contact within their circle. In this manner,public declaration, the NWPA index has fluctuateddealers can sell their products quickly and get
Of the eight monitored products, ivory remains the most frequently advertised, generally
between five and 10 until September 2014; orcomprising over half of the new advertisements posted each month (Figure 5).
more people involved in the selling. Monitoringaround 1500 new advertisements per monthsocial media retailing presents considerable
Figure5: Numberof new
ivory product advertisements(January 2012-September 2014)
acrossthe 25monitoredsites.
challenges. The operation of most social media
160
platforms means only “recognized” members
140
can see information posted by a dealer within120
his social media contacts. Dealers also check100
their followers regularly and may block those80
who never buy products or post updates (as60
it indicates that these users rarely use this40
account) or those who regularly ask questions.
20
This makes it difficult for researchers to maintaina presence on these discreet internet circles.
TRAFFIC is currently developing new survey
methods and research techniques to overcome
such challenges. Despite the inherent difficulties
Figure5: Numberof newivory
product
advertisements
At the beginningof the survey
there were
57 new
advertisements
for ivory products per website.
This peaked 2012-September
at 136 in March 2012, 2014)
then decreased to 39 in July 2012, following the public
in monitoring such trade, TRAFFIC’s research(January
declaration by the 15 leading e-commerce sellers. Following this development, the index
fluctuated between 20 and 50 for the next 24 months, averaging around 35 new advertisements
for ivory products on each of the monitored websites.
4 The index is calculated as: NWPA of one month/the number of species *the number of4websitesmonitored by TRAFFIC at this monthSocialMedia:In March 2014, TRAFFIC began investigations into the rising use of social media to sell illegal
wildlife goods. Initial investigations revealed dealers release photos and information about illegal
wildlife products in order to attract and interact with potential customers. In contrast to posted

has revealed that considerable quantities ofillegal wildlife products are bought through social
media channels. Table 2 provides a summary of
the number of transactions found on one social
Table 2: Examples of advertisements for illegal wildlife products posted on social media
media
platform during the course of one month.
within one month
Rhino: Entire
Social media

Ivory

accounttusks

Ivory segments

horns or horn

Helmetedpieces andhornbill

workedcasqueIvory items

products, etc.
Dealer 1

60+

100+

Dealer 2

2

54

10

Dealer 3

26

70+

Dealer 4

5

11

Dealer 5

7

11

15

Dealer 6

15

30+

2

Total

115+

276+

77+

50+

thousands
25

hundreds

21

hundreds
hundreds
hundreds
hundreds

46+

thousands

The data in Table 2 show that significant amounts of illegal wildlife products are being soldthrough social media. That is why it is imperative that investigators and enforcement agencies –as well as social media platform administrators – concentrate their efforts on monitoring anddeterring illegal wildlife trade on social media.

Table 2: Examples of advertisements for illegal wildlife
products posted on social media within one month
Monitoring and enforcement challenges
The speed and anonymity of online commerce presents many challenges for routine monitoringof activity to detect those transactions where wildlife goods are being bought and sold illegally.
Dealers are increasingly adept at concealing their activities, by selling through social media,
introducing new code words to conceal the identity of the actual goods on offer and other means.
Progress in eliminating illegal online trade is hampered by the practicalities of blocking certain
code words, while limited capacity means it is simply not possible to find and delete all offending
advertisements in time. The speed with which online transactions can take place is also a major
impediment, both to monitoring and to effective enforcement action.

The data in Table 2 shows that significant
amounts of illegal wildlife products are being soldthrough social media. That is why it is imperativethat researchers and enforcement agencies –as well as social media platform administrators
Therefore any attempt to monitor online activities needs to be capable of rapid adaption to meet
– concentrate their efforts on monitoring anddeterring illegal wildlife trade on social media.

MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENTCHALLENGES
The speed and anonymity of online commerce
presents many challenges for routine monitoringof activity to detect those transactions where
wildlife goods are being bought and sold illegally.
Dealers are increasingly adept at concealing
their activities, by selling through social media,
introducing new code words to conceal theidentity of the actual goods on offer and othermeans. Progress in eliminating illegal online
trade is hampered by the practicalities of blocking
certain code words, while limited capacity means
it is simply not possible to find and delete alloffending advertisements in time. The speed withwhich online transactions can take place is alsoa major impediment, both to monitoring and toeffective enforcement action.
Therefore, any attempt to monitor online activities
needs to be capable of rapid adaption to meet new
challenges as they arise. TRAFFIC is continuously
reviewingandadapting
its
monitoring
approaches, including further researches into theillegal trade through social media, and is actively
seeking new funding and expanded partnerships
to increase the activities and scope of online

monitoring. New means of enforcement, which
go beyond removing advertisements fromwebsites, need to be identified and implemented.
One recent example concerns a seller on thesocial media platform WeChat who was arrested
owing to the phone records of his transactions5.
Currently the posting of advertisements for illegal
wildlife products is not in itself an offence but –for example – it is illegal to sell ivory online. It isa recurrent challenge for legislation to keep pacewith technological developments.
Methods of payment offer an additional
avenue for detecting sales of illegal products,
with “guaranteed transaction” services being
increasingly employed. Once a purchase has been
agreed, the buyer pays money to a “guaranteed”
intermediary. Once the money is received by
the intermediary, the dealer sends the productto the buyer and, after it has been checked,
the buyer then instructs the intermediary torelease the money to the dealer. Tracking suchfinancial flows would provide additional means
to interdict illegal online transactions. Anotherapproach to detecting and preventing illegal
trade is through the courier companies used todeliver illegal products to buyers: TRAFFIC has
already been in correspondence with a numberof such companies with the aim of developing
procedures to ensure they do not become theunwitting conduit for illegal wildlife transactions.
Nevertheless, after more than two years of
co-operation with e-commerce platform andwebsite managers and enforcement authorities,
the total number of illegal wildlife products
advertisements (TWPA) and the monthly numberof new wildlife products advertisements (NWPA)
have remained stable for the past two years. This
period of stability followed a public declaration
made by 15 of the leading e-commerce sites in
China stating they had a zero-tolerance policy
towards their services being used to conduct
illegal wildlife trading. Feedback from regularmonitoring by TRAFFIC has resulted in website
managers routinely removing offending adverts
and blocking code words used to describe
illegal products, and messaging to encouragesuch action has taken place through a seriesof targeted training workshops. While positive
progress has been made, there is still much to
do to eliminate trade in illegal wildlife products
online, and through social media in particular.

5 http://www.fj.xinhuanet.com/news/2014-08/27/c_1112255004.htm

BRI EF ING PAPER

In this manner, dealers can sell their products quickly and get more people involved in the selling.
Monitoring social media retailing presents considerable challenges. The operation of most social
media platforms means only “recognized” members can see information posted by a dealer
within his social media contacts. Dealers also check their followers regularly and may block those
who never buy products or post updates (as it indicates that these users rarely use this account)or those who regularly ask questions. This makes it difficult for investigators to maintain apresence on these discreet internet circles. TRAFFIC is currently developing new survey methods
and techniques to overcome such challenges. Despite the inherent difficulties in monitoring suchtrade, TRAFFIC’s research has revealed that considerable quantities of illegal wildlife products arebought through social media channels. Table 2 provides a summary of the number oftransactions found on one social media platform during the course of one month.

5

Figure 6: Typical processes used in securing an onlinetransaction
As Figure 6 shows, a typical selling process caninvolve both websites and social media. So,
e-commerce and social media can be interlinked.
Sellers and buyers might switch communication
channels during a transaction – which canfurther complicate the work of researchers andenforcement agencies. The payment can include
both guaranteed and non-guaranteed services Appendix I describes the steps of a typical onlinetransaction in more detail.

CONCLUSIONSBRI EF ING PAPER

Regular online monitoring by TRAFFIC,
particularly from 2012 onwards, of Chineselanguage e-commerce platforms and websites
has revealed a large number of online
advertisements for illegal wildlife goods, peaking
at around 4,000 new advertisements per monthin March 2012 (Figure 3). TRAFFIC’s data showthat more than half of the illegal products
offered comprise ivory items.

6

Regular removal of advertisements of concern,
following regular feedback and training sessions
held by TRAFFIC for platform and website
managers, has led to a dramatic and sustained
drop in the number of such advertisements
appearing online. This was particularly marked
following a public declaration made by 15 of
the leading e-commerce websites made inJune 2012 not to tolerate such advertisementson their platforms and the sustained cooperation of online managers has been muchvalued and appreciated. Levels of new online
advertisements for illegal wildlife goods havestabilized at around 1,500 per month for the
past 25 months. This is despite the increasing
number of websites now monitored by TRAFFIC(currently 25), an expansion in the number of
products monitored (currently 8), and a large
increase in the number of search terms covered(currently 64).
However, the dramatic drop in the number of
online advertisements for illegal wildlife goods
should not give any reason for complacency:
their number still remains high and the target

species are all of international conservation
concern, whilst a lack of advertisements
on routinely monitored websites could justindicate that they have been moved elsewhere,
particularly so in the very rapidly developingworld of online commerce. It should not beassumed that the reduction of advertisements
for illegal wildlife products on monitored
e-commerce platforms actually translates into
an overall reduction in consumption. Therefore,
TRAFFIC needs to understand if trade has shifted
and needs to reveal related volumes, dynamics
as well interactions. This study showed thatsocial media seems to be an important factor inthis shift.
Of particular note and concern is the risingincidences of online sales of illegal goods
through social media forums, which present
particularmonitoring
andenforcement
challenges, and further difficulties in terms ofthe capacity needed to address such issues.
TRAFFIC’s data show that – currently – significant
amounts of illegal wildlife products are soldthrough social media. New avenues need to be
explored to interdict illegal trade, such as cooperation with logistics and finance companies
who ultimately are involved in facilitating theonline transactions.
With these findings in mind, TRAFFIC makes
the following recommendations to improve theonline monitoring of the e-commerce market
place with a view to reducing substantially theincidences of it being used for sales of illegal
wildlife products and increase the risk of arrestand prosecution of those dealing and purchasing
such goods online.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Logistics and courier companies need to
become more involved in efforts to combat
online illegal wildlife trade through regularand careful checking of their cargoes toensure they comply with existing regulations.
TRAFFIC stands ready to help train and provide
awareness sessions to help achieve this aim.
2. The State Post Bureau of China, which oversee
the management of the logistic and courier
industry in China, should be encouraged to
become members of China’s National Interagency CITES Enforcement Coordination
Group (NICE-CG) and the Provincial Interagency CITES Enforcement Coordination
Group (PICE-CG), the two bodies who oversee
the implementation of CITES in China.
3. Social media companies should be more proactive in combatting illegal wildlife trade. For
example, this sector has the technical ability
to monitor and search for key code words.
Such companies have an obligation to share
information about their client base if requested
by relevant law enforcement agencies. This
opportunity needs to be explored in more
depth.
4. The government should issue clear messaging
that the only legal sources of ivory in China
are from designated ivory manufacturers andretail outlets, and all ivory sold online is done
so illegally. Since online sales of ivory are illegal,
it should be explored whether it is possible
to promulgate regulations, which also makeit illegal to advertise ivory and other wildlife
products online (including code names).

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5. The alliance of government bodies, nongovernmentalorganizations(including
TRAFFIC) and industry players establishedby the China CITES MA should be expanded
to improve the monitoring and enforcement
activities directed at combating illegal wildlife
trade online (including social media).

7

APPENDIX I: TYPICAL STEPS OF AN ONLINE TRANSACTION FOR ILLEGALWILDLIFE PRODUCTS
This section describes the typical steps of an
online transaction as presented in Figure 6.
This description is based on observations of the
TRAFFIC researchers.

Step 2: Assembling purchasers through amobile account or online shop

Step 1: Drawing attention to the product forsale

Due to the privacy associated with using a mobile
account, dealers use these widely to contact andattract those interested in purchasing products.
Key characteristics of this preferred method ofcontact are:Dealers frequently post advertisements on online
e-commerce sites (Figure 7), or visit antiquecollectors’ forums, to initiate an online auction.
The advertisement directs those interested
in purchasing the item to a personal mobile
account, and thereafter any conversation takes
place out of the public domain. Dealers may
direct purchasers to their own online shops oreven to a physical store.

BRI EF ING PAPER

Figure 7 is a screenshot posted by a dealer ofa piece of carved Helmeted Hornbill “ivory”.
Instead of a detailed description of the product,
only a mobile account is provided together witha request for those interested in purchasing theitem to join the account.

8

Figure 7. Screenshot of a post on an antique collectors’
forum

MOBILE ACCOUNT/”FRIEND CIRCLE”:-

High privacy; low risk of getting caught. Unlike
blogs or forums, mobile accounts needapproval from a moderator (i.e. the dealer)
before followers can access the account.
Messages are not public and only followersof the account can see any messages;-

Followers
becomeaccount
members
because they are interested in purchasing:
they are self-selected as likely purchasers of
the goods;-

It is very simple to advertise new products
and approach potential purchasers, simply by
uploading a photo and posting it; the image
will automatically appear in every followers’
screen;-Once a follower has a track-record as a buyer,
deals on future purchases can all be carriedout directly through their mobile account.

Figure 8: Screenshot of a dealer’s mobile accountThe dealer’s account in Figure 8 is updated daily
and news items posted regularly. Images fromthe account indicate that the dealer has a large
quantity of stock. In public forums or online
shops, dealers rarely disclose they have large
numbers of items available, but they feel secure
in private social media circles.

Figure 9 shows a screenshot of an online auction
for a Saiga horn that includes a description of theitem, the dealer’s mobile account details and an
instruction that payment can only be completed
through an e-payment service.

ONLINE SHOPS
Unlike mobile accounts, online shops are very
public places, so dealers know it is risky topost items there and often use other legal
items as cover. In the screenshot in Figure 8,
the dealer has an online shop that appears
to sell legal products. However, this dealer isknown to sell illegal wildlife products through amobile account. E-commerce companies haveconfirmed that sometimes products displayed in
online shops have not been the actual products
sold.

Figure 9: Screenshot showing a dealer initiating an online
auction for a Saiga horn

Step 3: Closing the deal-

A recent development is the ability to pay
directly between mobile accounts: this is not
only convenient for dealers and buyers, but
owing to its privacy makes payments very
challenging to trace.

-

Online payment services can also play animportant role. Dealers often negotiate withbuyers privately, and use a regular online
payment procedure. This appears to bea normal legal transaction and is difficult
to monitor. Online payments usually offer
guaranteed transaction services which allow
the consumer to check product quality first.

BRI EF ING PAPER

Depending on the relationship between seller
and dealer, this step can include guaranteed
and non-guaranteed payments (i.e. by banktransaction).

9

FEBRUARY 2015

TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network,is the leading non-governmental organization
working globally on trade in wild animals andplants in the context of both biodiversity
conservation and sustainable development.
For further information contact:
TRAFFIC
Headquarters Office219a Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 0DL
UK
Telephone: (44)(0)1223 277427
E-mail: traffic@traffic.org
Website: www.traffic.org
UK Registered Charity No. 1076722,
Registered Limited Company No. 3785518.

is a strategic alliance ofThis project was implemented in co-operation
with GIZ, on behalf of and financed by the German
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (BMZ)

This project was
supported by WWF UK