The Tech Industry Can Help Protect Wildlife Together
Etsy believes that protecting endangered species from illegal trafficking online is an important industry issue. That’s why we’ve long prohibited endangered species on our marketplace and why we’ve recently teamed up with tech industry partners and wildlife non-government organizations (NGOs) to form the Global Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online.
When Etsy was developing our first wildlife product policy in 2012, we realized that we weren’t experts in endangered species policy or law. That’s why it has been valuable to partner with organizations like the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). With their help, we’ve been able to identify and monitor wildlife trends in our marketplace and update our policies accordingly.
We’ve also learned that the wildlife trends we see aren’t unique to our platform. Rather, we experience what’s called the “whack-a-mole” effect: if one company cracks down on a certain type of illicit wildlife product, traffickers often move to the next website in an effort to continue selling. To be effective, we believe that e-commerce and tech companies have to work together as an industry and enforce similar policies. Coalition members worked together last year to help produce a Wildlife-Friendly Online Trade Policy, establishing a consensus around endangered species like pangolins, elephants, and tigers.
When it comes to preventing wildlife trafficking online, tech companies aren’t competitors; we’re collaborators who are united with a common goal: to reduce wildlife trafficking online by 80% by 2020. We’re excited to keep you updated on our progress. Together, we can help protect some of the world’s most vulnerable species from extinction.
If you see an item that violates Etsy’s policy on endangered or threatened wildlife products, please let us know. Scroll to the bottom right of the listing page, click “Report this item to Etsy,” and fill out the form. Thanks for helping us prevent illegal wildlife trafficking!
