The Internet has emerged as one of the greatest threats fueling the illegal wildlife trade, making it easier to buy everything from live baby lions to beverages made from tiger bones, conservationists said Sunday. The web's impact was made clear at the meeting of the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES. A vote Sunday was scheduled on a proposal to ban the sale of the Kaiser's spotted newt which the World Wildlife Fund says has been devastated by the Internet trade. The US and Sweden, meanwhile are proposing to regulate the trade in red and pink coral which is crafted into expensive jewelry and sold extensively on the web. The IFW has done several surveys of illegal trade on the web and found that thousands of species are sold on auction sites, classified ads and chat rooms, mostly in the US but also Europe, China, Russia and Australia. Most of what is traded is illegal African ivory but the group has also found exotic birds along with rare products from protected species.
