Even with all the efforts, loopholes remain

February 24, 2024 2:25 AM

Bowmouth guitarfish amulets are just one example of the boundless number of protected wildlife products sold online, where a global Grand Bazaar of seedy vendors hawk their wildlife wares, and anyone with internet access can find products from rhino horns to exotic orchids to tiger claws with just a few clicks. With lax regulations, even weaker enforcement, and a lack of legal culpability, not only is wildlife trafficking able to fester online, but algorithms actually amplify sales, boosting the platforms’ profits. from For Sale: Shark Jaw, Tiger Claw, Fish Maw [Hakai]
posted by chavenet (3 comments total)

“I’ve come to believe that Facebook is a driver of the global extinction crisis,” says Gretchen Peters, director of the Alliance to Counter Crime Online (ACCO), a nonprofit whistle-blower organization.

Is there anything the House that Zuckerberg Built can’t mar and ruin? Really, it should be shut down as a crime against humanity.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:02 AM on February 24 [5 favorites]

I do wonder if the best way to kill these products would be flood the marketplace with high quality, cheap fakes. Sell them below the cost of poaching the animals, and drive them out of business. Couple it with throwing everything you can at the poachers to drive their costs as high as possible.
posted by Canageek at 10:29 AM on February 24 [1 favorite]

I mean, how can parts of animals be “protective” when they couldn’t protect the entire animal? Those talismans should bring doom and dismemberment on the wearers.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:19 PM on February 24 [1 favorite]