Conservation implications of primate trade in China over 18 years based on web news reports of confiscations

Abstract

Primate species have been increasingly threatened by legal and illegal trade in China, mainly for biomedical research or as pets and traditional medicine, yet most reports on trade from China regard international trade. To assess a proxy for amount of national primate trades, we quantified the number of reports of native primate species featuring in unique web news reports from 2000 to 2017, including accuracy of their identification, location where they were confiscated or rescued, and their condition upon rescue. To measure temporal trends across these categories, the time span was divided into three sections: 2000–2005, 2006–2011 and 2012–2017. A total of 735 individuals of 14 species were reported in 372 news reports, mostly rhesus macaques (n = 165, 22.5%, Macaca mulatta) and two species of slow lorises (n = 487, 66.3%, Nycticebus spp.). During the same period, live individuals of rhesus macaques were recorded 206 times (70,949 individuals) in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Trade Database, whereas slow lorises were only recorded four times (nine individuals), indicating that the species originated illegally from China or were illegally imported into China. Due to their rescued locations in residential areas (n = 211, 56.7%), most primates appeared to be housed privately as pets. A higher proportion of ‘market’ rescues during 2006–2011 (χ2 = 8.485, df = 2, p = 0.014), could be partly attributed to an intensive management on wildlife markets since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. More than half (68.3%, 502 individuals) of the primate individuals were unhealthy, injured or dead when rescued. Thus, identification and welfare training and capacity-building should be provided to husbandry and veterinary professionals, as well as education to the public through awareness initiatives. The increase in presence of some species, especially slow lorises, with a declining population in restricted areas, also suggests the urgent need for public awareness about the illegal nature of keeping these taxa as pets.

Illegal trade in wild cats and its link to Chinese‐led development in Central and South America

“…We acknowledge the limitation posed by gathering data only from online sources in representing the real number of seizures and the actual number of individuals traded, especially considering the possible effects of distinct surveillance efforts among countries and the tendency to over-report seizures implicating international countries. Seizure reports and media items have been used frequently and are claimed to be among the few sources available through which to assess hidden markets in wildlife (Ni et al 2018) or sensitive illegal behaviors, such as hunting (El Bizri et al 2015). They can be an important source for a first diagnosis of trade in wild cats, especially considering the absence of an official seizure database in most of the involved countries and the high risk and difficulty of conducting market surveys and interviews with traffickers.…”

“…Thus far, however, this link has not been demonstrated empirically. The secretive nature of illegal wildlife trade means that researchers often resort to using indirect indicators (e.g., Ni et al [2018] used online reports of seizures). Lacking a comprehensive database on the quantity, prices, and supply-chain elements in the trade in wild cats from Central and South America to China, we used a data set on >1000 wild cat seizures reported from 2012 to 2018.…”

Effects of Dietary Alteration on the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome of the Rescued Bengal Slow Loris

“…The slow loris (Nyc ticebus , Lorisidae, Primates) is one of the primate taxa most threatened by illegal trade ( Ni et al, 2018 ). It is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).…”

“…It is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Numerous animals rescued from the illegal trade are raised in captivity, and some of them are released into the wild ( Nekaris and Starr, 2015 ; Ni et al, 2018 ). The captive animals experience remarkable changes, especially diet in the living environment.…”

Infectious Disease Risk Across the Growing Human-Non Human Primate Interface: A Review of the Evidence

“…Dues to intensive management on wildlife domestic markets in China since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, more than 730 NHP (mainly Macaca mulatta and Nycticebus spp .) were rescued and confiscated in Chinese markets from 2000 to 2017 (31). In a recent survey conducted by a New York Time reporter it was claimed that there is a specific annual underground market for thousands of baby apes sold alive to local traders for $10 only whereas their cost can go up to as much as $250,000 when shipped abroad for international illegal business (32).…”