Tarantulas are one of the most illegally traded spider species on the Internet.Example photo: EFE / District Environment Secretariat in Bogotá
World trade Spiders, tarantulas, emperor scorpions Studies highlighting its illegal nature and the threat it represents are growing almost out of control on the Internet. biodiversity..
Increasing popularity of trading “Exotic animals“From a group of invertebrates” highlights a study published Thursday in Nature Communications Biology that has driven almost some species to extinction.
The author, led by Benjamin Marshall of the University of Stirling, UK, We have created an inventory of over 1,200 world trades. The number of spiders from 111 internet sites operating in 9 languages during the summer of 2021.
Three-quarters of the spiders sold online were spiders, and the rest were mostly scorpions.
File photo showing a wildlife rescue expert with 140 tarantulas confiscated at Bogotá Airport (Colombia).Photo EFE / Administrator of the Environment Bogotá
The spider was home to more than 400 species of tarantulas and more than 200 species of arrowbreasted scorpions.
Millions of spiders for sale
According to researchers, the internet resources for studying this traffic are explained by the lack of official data on the trading of millions of spider-related invertebrates.
Invertebrates are “often forgotten by protection policies and practices” of the species.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), for example, registers only one species of more than 2,300 known scorpions.
Also, of the more than 1 million invertebrate species, less than 1% was evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The study estimates that the novelty and unique characteristics of some species may be emphasized to facilitate sales, especially in the following cases: Tarantula and jumping spider..
Some sites are currently available Spider’s mysterious boxIts future owners will discover the content when opening them.
The average size of a wolf spider with a prominent abdomen.
Studies show that these animals are also constantly in fashion and require less space, making them very suitable for urban dwellers.
Research shows that empirical transactions based on Google search dataOr an increase in the duration of confinement during the covid-19 epidemic..
Interest promoted by that possibility Animals can be sent by mail, even if they are illegal.
“The challenge for measuring the true dimension of spider trade is the small size of their bodies, which facilitates trafficking and washing,” that is, a third country that is less demanding on this trade. Passing is emphasized by research.
Some seeds can withstand traveling in small boxes without food or water. Also, unlike vertebrates, it cannot be detected by customs X-rays.
Scorpions, another invertebrate that has been trafficked illegally and without control.
Based on customs seizures from the official US LEMIS database, this study emphasizes that many species of spiders are given from countries of non-origin.
This study cites, for example, Chile, where more than 50% of the spider supply belongs to species that do not live there.This is this country “Gateways of species from other South American countries”..
In this survey, three-quarters of spiders sold online are not on the CITES or LEMIS transaction register.
“Without better data and regulations, there is no way to assess the impact of trade on most species,” the study said.
Many spiders are taken directly from the wild and are not cultivated, so the authors “Many species of spiders and scorpions are on the verge of extinction.”
AFP
Source: Clarin
