Internet enterprises help comprehensively control the illegal trade in wild animals and plants on the Internet

BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- "The Internet Enterprise Alliance to Combat Illegal Trade in Online Wildlife has removed or blocked more than 11.6 million pieces of information on endangered species and their products from its platform." One report said.

On September 23, the 2021 exchange activities of the Internet Enterprise Alliance to Combat Illegal Trade in Online Wild Animals and Plants (hereinafter referred to as the "Alliance") were held in Beijing to study and explore the comprehensive promotion of the comprehensive management of illegal trade in online wild animals and plants in China and promote the protection of biodiversity.

The annual exchange event was co-sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Association of China, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the International Wildlife Trade Research Organization (TRAFFIC) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

At the meeting, it was revealed that a number of Internet alliance companies deleted information on endangered species and their products on their platforms. These include live tigers, reptiles, primates, birds used in the pet trade, and wildlife products such as elephants, pangolins and turtles.

Following the addition of Douyin and Huya Live to the Alliance in the first half of this year, three more Chinese Internet companies Weipaitang (an online auction platform for cultural and art works), Visual China (visual content trading platform) and Toys Dezhi (Guofeng Cultural E-commerce Platform) joined the Alliance, and the number of global member companies increased from 21 in 2018 to 47 in 2021.

Wan Ziming, deputy director of the Department of Animal and Plant Protection of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, pointed out that in order to achieve a comprehensive and long-term mechanism for controlling the illegal trade in wild animals and plants in the network, the competent government departments have improved the control mechanism from multiple levels such as legislative regulations, law enforcement supervision, and departmental coordination. The Wildlife Protection Law, which is currently being revised, will further clarify the responsibilities of online platforms.

In China, the Internet Enterprise Alliance is relying on domestic policies and regulations and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention), working closely with government authorities, law enforcement departments, industry associations, non-governmental organizations and other relevant agencies to innovate co-governance mechanisms and continuously explore best practices to help the construction of ecological civilization and biodiversity conservation.

Source: China News Network