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Abstract Thousands of species worldwide are threatened with extinction due to human activities. For some animals, such as elephants, totoaba, and bluefin tuna, population declines are largely driven by hunting. High prices and large profits create a strong incentive for illegal hunting, even in the face of penalties and strict international restrictions against trade. One innovative solution to help reverse the declines of such species is to farm them to increase supply, thereby reducing prices and decreasing hunting incentives. However, this idea has been criticized as impractical, though some examples exist of successful implementation. Here, we evaluate the hurdles facing endangered species farming as a market‐based mechanism to reduce illegal harvest of wild populations and provide guidance on when it is most likely to be effective. Using a simple model, we show how farming costs and enforcement of anti‐poaching measures are key drivers of success for this solution. We also argue that many of the most promising candidates are aquatic species that have been largely overlooked. Thus, while conservation farming may not be a solution for all endangered species, it should be more seriously considered for species that could be produced quickly and cost‐effectively.
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This content will become publicly available on April 1, 2026
Prevalence of endangered shark trophies in automated detection of the online wildlife trade
Direct exploitation, which includes the trade of wild animals for their parts, is a major driver of extinction. Digital communication tools, particularly the internet, have facilitated the trade in endangered species. Here, we automatically collected data to analyze online sales of threatened animals across 148 English-text online mar- ketplaces. We created a tool that searched for online sales of 13,267 animal species at risk of global extinction, as classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as 706 animal species on Ap- pendix I of the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), for which international commercial trade is prohibited. Examining a period of 15 weeks in 2018, we identified 10,699 unique listings selling body parts or eggs of threatened species, of which 4131 contained a full species name (common or sci- entific). These 4131 results were then filtered by keywords and, finally, manually vetted, which yielded 546 sale listings for 83 species. Of these 546 listings, 61 % advertised shark trophies (mainly jaws), 73 % of which were taken from species listed as endangered or critically endangered. Just four websites hosted >95 % of listings. We identified 18 species for sale that are included on CITES Appendix I. We also identified 13 species for which the IUCN had not identified intentional use as a threat. This work expands current understanding about the dealing of endangered and potentially illegal species online, specifies taxa threatened by online trade, and highlights emerging opportunities and persistent challenges to preventing the trafficking of threatened species.
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- PAR ID:
- 10580013
- Publisher / Repository:
- Elsevier sciencedirect
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biological Conservation
- Volume:
- 304
- Issue:
- C
- ISSN:
- 0006-3207
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 110992
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Endangered species Machine-learning Online Sharks Threatened Trade Wildlife
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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