Illegal trade of birds using Facebook in Argentina

The illegal trade of wild birds is a large threat to biodiversity and
sellers often use social media to traffic wildlife. By monitoring and
characterizing the trade of wild and domestic birds on Facebook, we show
that this illegal e-commerce remains widespread throughout Argentina,
despite a decrease in activity in 2023 compared to 2017, highlighting the
persistence and magnitude of this issue. In 2017, we found 96,354 users in
127 buying/selling groups in 18 provinces, of which 61% were public. In
2023, we found 58,647 users in 76 groups in 14 provinces, of which 66%
were public. Analyzing one group in 2017 and two groups in 2023, we found
67 bird species were offered for sale. All birds for sale in these groups
had illegal origins (i.e., without authorized bands or permits), including
two Endangered and one Near Threatened species. Passerines (mainly
Thraupidae, Fringilidae, and Cardinalidae species) were the most offered
group, but parrots, raptors, and other bird groups were also
available. Saltator aurantiirostris (Golden-billed saltator) was
most frequently offered for sale and had the highest interest from users
in the two largest analyzed groups. The Endangered Gubernatrix cristata
(Yellow cardinal) reached the highest price (up to 328 USD), it was also
frequently offered for sale (5th position in 2017) and had high user
interest (2nd in 2017). We found that Facebook was frequently used for
illegal bird trade in Argentina, including species of conservation
concern, which can threaten a number of species. We call for coordinated
and interdisciplinary actions that engage authorities, social media
companies, and local communities, which will be needed to enact top-down
and bottom-up measures to continue reducing and eventually halting
wildlife-related illegal activities.