Social networks on the Internet have become one of the most active trade channels for animal and plant species on a global scale. In some cases, taking advantage of the difficulties of control by the authorities, the purchase and sale of fauna and flora is carried out in breach of national and international regulations on the protection of species and, consequently, endangering endangered species. or facilitating the spread of invasive species.
A team of researchers in which experts from the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN) and the Royal Botanical Garden (RJB) participate, both entities of the CSIC, have now published the results of one of the first studies carried out in Spain on the sale of birds through social networks. The results have been published in the magazine Ardeola, (The Bird Trade in Spanish Social Media: Popularity and Potential Negative Consequences), and highlight that Facebook is the social network with the highest percentage of sales. After reviewing the offers spread on social networks, experts have verified that in some cases “cases can be found in which the regulations on trafficking in species are not complied with, which represents a potential danger for the conservation of these animals and their animals.” environments”.
On an international level, in recent years numerous studies and complaints have been published about the illegal (or at least illegitimate) use of social networks on the Internet as channels for buying and selling species, but in the specific case of Spain there are few precedents in this type of research.
“Online trafficking of species is increasingly frequent, so it is necessary to pay attention to the type of animals that are being sold, especially on social networks,” says Mario Díaz, researcher at the MNCN. “In this study, we focused on the case of birds, we wanted to analyze whether their sale is widespread in Spain and if it is related to the popularity of each species,” adds Nura Elkhouri-Vidarte, RJB researcher and first signatory of the article. now published.
In the study, publications related to bird sale advertisements on four social networks were analyzed: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. “In total, we found 11,332 posts and confirmed that 313 different species of birds were sold, observing that the social network most used for this is Facebook; Furthermore, we confirm that the number of sales of each species is directly related to the popularity of the bird,” details the researcher in a note released by the CSIC.
The most represented orders were the Psittaciformes, which includes parrots and cockatoos, and the Passeriformes, which includes birds such as sparrows, canaries and goldfinches. This may be due to the attractiveness of the color of the parrots and the songs of the passerines,” explains Díaz.
Among the species sold are some protected and endangered species, as well as invasive species
The results of this study are interesting to detect the possible dangers to nature that the commercialization of animals over the Internet has, since a percentage of the species observed are protected, in danger of extinction or are invasive.
“This potential breach of animal trafficking laws established by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) makes it necessary to monitor this trade in order to establish the necessary conservation measures. Regularly monitoring certain social networks can provide valuable information on the demand and market for species of special interest for conservation, allowing us to predict and reduce the negative impact caused by their sale,” concludes Laura Martín Torrijos, RJB researcher and co-author of the study.
