Navigating ethical challenges in online wildlife trade research.

The surge in internet accessibility has transformed wildlife trade by facilitating the acquisition of wildlife through online platforms. This scenario presents unique ethical challenges for researchers, as traditional ethical frameworks for in-person research cannot be readily applied to the online realm. Currently, there is a lack of clearly defined guidelines for appropriate ethical procedures when conducting online wildlife trade (OWT) research. In response to this, we consulted the scientific literature on ethical considerations in online research and examined existing guidelines established by professional societies and ethical boards. Based on these documents, we present a set of recommendations that can inform the development of ethically responsible OWT research. Key ethical challenges in designing and executing OWT research include the violation of privacy rights, defining subjects and illegality, and the risk of misinterpretation or posing risks to participants when sharing data. Potential solutions include considering participants' expectations of privacy, defining when participants are authors versus subjects, understanding the legal and cultural context, minimizing data collection, ensuring anonymization, and removing metadata. Best practices also involve being culturally sensitive when analyzing and reporting findings. Adhering to these guidelines can help mitigate potential pitfalls and provides valuable insights to editors, researchers, and ethical review boards, enabling them to conduct scientifically rigorous and ethically responsible OWT research to advance this growing field.

Los retos éticos de la investigación del mercado virtual de fauna Resumen El incremento en el acceso al internet ha transformado el mercado de fauna ya que facilita la adquisición de ejemplares a través de plataformas virtuales. Este escenario representa un reto ético único para los investigadores, pues los marcos éticos tradicionales para la investigación en persona no pueden aplicarse fácilmente en línea. Actualmente no hay lineamientos claros para el procedimiento ético apropiado cuando se investiga el mercado virtual de fauna (MVF). Como respuesta, consultamos la literatura científica sobre las consideraciones éticas en la investigación en línea y analizamos los lineamientos existentes establecidos por las sociedades profesionales y los comités éticos. Con base en estos documentos, presentamos un conjunto de recomendaciones que pueden guiar el desarrollo de la investigación sobre el MVF con responsabilidad ética. Los retos más importantes para el diseño y ejecución de la investigación sobre el MVF incluyen la violación del derecho a la privacidad, la definición de los sujetos y la ilegalidad y el riesgo de malinterpretar o presentar riesgos para los participantes cuando se comparten datos. Las soluciones potenciales incluyen considerar las expectativas de privacidad de los participantes, definir cuándo los participantes son autores y cuándo sujetos, entender el contexto legal y cultural, minimizar la recolección de datos, asegurar el anonimato y eliminar los metadatos. Las mejores prácticas también involucran la sensibilidad cultural cuando se analizan y reportan los resultados. La adhesión a estos lineamientos puede mitigar los posibles retos y proporcionar información valiosa para los editores, investigadores y comités de ética, permitiéndoles realizar una investigación con rigor científico y responsabilidad ética sobre el MVF para avanzar en este campo creciente de investigación.

Disentangling the Legal and Illegal Wildlife Trade-Insights from Indonesian Wildlife Market Surveys.

It is challenging to disentangle the legal and illegal aspects of wild-caught animals that are traded in wildlife markets or online, and this may diminish the value of conducting wildlife trade surveys. We present empirical studies on the trade in birds (ducks, owls, songbirds, non-passerines) in Indonesia (2005 to 2021). Based on visits to wildlife markets, wholesale traders, and monitoring of an Instagram account, we examine if five specific pieces of legislation (domestic and international) are adhered to: (1) protected species, (2) harvest quota, (3) welfare, (4) provincial transport restrictions, and (5) illegal import of CITES-listed species. Our five distinctly different case studies showed that in each case, certain rules and regulations were adhered to, whilst others were violated to varying degrees. When trade involved non-protected species, there was frequently a lack of harvest quotas or trade occurred above these allocated quotas. Basic welfare provisions were regularly and habitually violated. Visiting wildlife markets and recording first-hand what is openly offered for sale is a highly reliable, verifiable, and valuable method of data collection that can give insight in numerous aspects of the animal trade. Our research provides support for recognising the urgency for the government to take appropriate action to curb all the illegal aspects of the bird trade in Indonesia.

Online trade in wildlife and the lack of response to COVID-19.

Wildlife trade has been widely discussed as a likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear how the main actors in the wildlife trade chain responded to these discussions and to the campaigns advocating wildlife trade bans. We analyzed the content of ~20,000 posts on 41 Facebook groups devoted to wild pet trade and ran a breakpoint and a content analysis to assess when and how the COVID-19 pandemic was incorporated into the discourse within trade communities. Only 0.44% of advertisements mentioned COVID-19, mostly after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. No traders discussed the role of trade in spreading diseases; instead, posts stimulated the trade in wild species during lockdown. COVID-19 potentially offers persuasive arguments for reducing wildlife trade and consumption. This effect was not demonstrated by on-the-ground actors involved in this market. Bans in wildlife trade will not be sufficient and additional strategies are clearly needed.