Inglês - PROF. Ms. JAMIL JUNIOR

INTERNET TRADE THREATENS EXOTIC ANIMALS

The world's endangered species are in danger from the Internet. Online shoppers are buying huge numbers of exotic animals. This is the nail in the coffin for many creatures already threatened with extinction. Poachers, collectors wanting stuffed rhino heads and Chinese medicine already threaten thousands of species. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) wrote a report called "Caught In The Web - Wildlife Trade On The Internet". It found thousands of rare animals for sale in its one-week Web search.

  The report is the tip of the iceberg. Experts value the illegal global animal trade at billions of dollars a year. The World Wide Web makes the situation worse. "Trade on the Internet is easy, cheap and anonymous. The result is a cyber black market where the future of the world's rarest animals is being traded away," said IFAW's Phyllis Campbell-McRar. She also warned: "Trade in wildlife is driven by consumer demand, so when the buying stops, the killing will too. Buying wildlife online is a damaging as killing it yourself."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            (breakingnewsenglish)