Wildlife Trade on e-Commerce Sites in China, with a Focus on Mammoth Ivory

Over a period of five months, the Wildlife Justice Commission took a deep dive into the illegal wildlife trade on Chinese e-commerce platforms, uncovering an apparent decline in endangered species parts for sale online.

Their research identified 4,297 ads marketing wildlife, parts and products of 35 species of fauna and flora mostly on platforms owned by the Alibaba Group. Fifteen percent were identified as marketing the sale of “protected” species, while 85% were classified as legally permitted according to China’s Wildlife Protection law.

However, WJC also suggested that wildlife criminals are simply obfuscating banned products by calling them something else, noting a significant growth in the number of postings claiming to sell "mammoth" ivory, a permitted wildlife product that closely resembles elephant ivory.

Authors:
Wildlife Justice Commission