PropertyValue
?:abstract
  • Wildlife trade has been widely discussed as a likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear how the main actors in the wildlife trade chain responded to these discussions and to the campaigns advocating wildlife trade bans. We analyzed the content of ~20,000 posts on 41 Facebook groups devoted to wild pet trade and ran a breakpoint and a content analysis to assess when and how the COVID-19 pandemic was incorporated into the discourse within trade communities. Only 0.44% of advertisements mentioned COVID-19, mostly after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. No traders discussed the role of trade in spreading diseases; instead, posts stimulated the trade in wild species during lockdown. COVID-19 potentially offers persuasive arguments for reducing wildlife trade and consumption. This effect was not demonstrated by on-the-ground actors involved in this market. Bans in wildlife trade will not be sufficient and additional strategies are clearly needed.
is ?:annotates of
?:creator
?:journal
  • Environ_Res
?:license
  • unk
?:publication_isRelatedTo_Disease
is ?:relation_isRelatedTo_publication of
?:source
  • WHO
?:title
  • Online trade in wildlife and the lack of response to COVID-19
?:type
?:who_covidence_id
  • #912189
?:year
  • 2020

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