Endangered species products for sale on the net

Endangered animal products are being sold illegally on the internet by criminal gangs and unscrupulous traders in Australia, an animal rights group says.

A three month investigation by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) revealed that more than 9000 live species or animal products, including a live gorilla, were available for sale on the internet in one week alone.

The investigation, "Caught in the web: wildlife trade on the internet", was conducted in the UK and focused on 66 websites based in the UK, US and Canada.

IFAW Asia Pacific conducted its own study and said internet trading of endangered animal products is a problem in Australia.

Campaigner Rebecca Brand said more than 150 items labelled as "elephant ivory" were advertised on eBay Australia over two 10 day periods in January and April this year.

She said shark jaws and rhinoceros horn were also found on the auction site, the only Australian website looked at by the group.

"Trade on the internet is easy, cheap and anonymous," Ms Brand said.

"Unscrupulous traders and sophisticated criminal gangs are taking advantage of this.

"The result is a cyber black market where the future of the world's rarest animals is being traded away."

Ms Brand said IFAW was in discussions with eBay Australia seeking to make the trade easier to police and ensure consumers knew it was illegal.

IFAW had also drawn up a code of practice for website owners which it would discuss with eBay Australia, she said.

Ms Brand said although some buyers were collectors, others were just curious consumers who were not aware of the cruelty involved in making animal products or that the practice was illegal.

"Trade in wildlife is driven by consumer demand. When the buying stops, the killing will too," she said.

Unchecked internet trade could spell disaster for many endangered species, Ms Brand said.

eBay trust and safety director Alastair MacGibbon today said the sale of live animals was banned on the website.

Mr MacGibbon said the sale of endangered species products was also prohibited but lawful in some circumstances. As an example, products such as ivory predating 1947 could be legally sold under certain conditions.

Mr MacGibbon said eBay removed listings and suspended sellers that breached its policies and also worked with the Department of Environment and Heritage to remove animal and wildlife products.

"eBay has zero tolerance to wrongdoing and has more than 1000 employees at eBay and PayPal dedicated to making eBay one of the safest places in the world to trade," he said.

- AAP