Many wild animals are sold illegally on the dark web. However, it turns out that their role is not as a pet, but rather as being empowered to be used as drugs.
Researchers have identified hundreds of species traded on the dark web. One of them is the Sonoran desert frog, also known as Incilius Alvarius.
"What surprised us was that the majority of the species traded there were for their 'recreational' medicinal properties. Especially for psychoactive compounds said ecologist at the University of Adelaide, Phill Cassey, as reported by us from Sciencealert, Sunday (14/5/2023) .
In fact, 90% of the wildlife trade on the dark web is made up of plants and fungi, when it comes to drugs. But this time some animals were also treated with the same purpose, such as the poison frog mentioned earlier.
The poison glands in the frog contain 5-MeO-DMT which can provide various effects. Presented by Cassey, those people buy it to then lick it off.
Another ecologist, Oliver Stringham, and colleagues have searched two million advertisements on the dark web between 2014 and 2020. They found trading activity for 153 species. As many as 70 of them have properties to be used as medicine.
He revealed that the species most often traded is Mimosa Tenuiflora, a type of tree originating from South America, and containing a very strong hallucinogenic DMT.
Besides being used as medicine, other species are used to make clothes or accessories, such as reptile skin bags. Although there are animals that are sold as pets, they are very few.
It was revealed that the trade in wild animals actually also occurs on the open web, so that the public can see it clearly. So they don't have to use the dark web, which requires special software.
"Given that illegal trade often occurs on the open, easy-to-find web, the main cause of illegal trade on the internet is a lack of law enforcement. This means regular monitoring and enforcement can prioritize this area of the internet," the ecologists wrote.