Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Social Organization of Pet Trafficking in Cyberspace

  • Published:
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Recent research has highlighted how deeply pet trafficking has been affected by the use of the Internet, to the point that it can be conceived as a hybrid market that combines both traditional and new social and economic opportunity structures. However, more must be learned about the extent to which the social organization of pet trafficking has changed due to the Internet, since the dynamics of relationships within and between criminal networks, as well as between criminal networks and non-offenders, matter as a potential object of intervention to counter this criminal activity. By focusing on the online market in animals for the Italian pet industry, this contribution offers an examination of the criminal structures and modus operandi of actors involved, using a socio-organizational level of analysis. It is based on case studies analysis and observational research carried out on cyber-hotspots for pet trafficking. These sources were used to identify and chart criminal networks, techniques, and social practices surrounding online sales. They were complemented by seven in-depth interviews with Italian law-enforcement officers and acknowledged experts from NGOs. The results offer empirical evidence for interpreting the impact of the Internet on the social organization of pet trafficking, thus providing a more complete understanding of how criminal actors behave in cyberspace.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Wildlife trafficking can be defined as “the taking, trading (supplying, selling or trafficking), importing, exporting, processing, possessing, obtaining and consumption of wild fauna and flora […] in contravention of national or international law.” (UN website, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/wildlife-and-forest-crime/overview.html).

  2. See, for instance, Regulations 998/2003 CE and 438/2010 UE, and Decision 2003/803 CE.

  3. Offenders are considered to operate in a professional way instead when the criminal activity is their major or unique source of income, and indeed a way of life (Mack 1972).

References

  • Antonopoulos, G.A. (2012). The Contribution of Virtual Ethnography to the Understanding of the Online Trade of Fake Medicines’. Presentation at the seminar The Online Trade of Fake Medicines: From Research to Action, University of Trento, Trento, Italy, December 11.

  • Barroso, L., de Magalhães, A., & Avelar São-Pedro, V. (2012). Illegal trade on non-native amphibians and reptiles in southeast Brazil: the status of e-commerce. Phyllomedusa, 11(2), 155–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beardsley, E. R. (2007). Poachers with PCs: the United States’ potential obligations and ability to enforce endangered wildlife trading prohibitions against foreign traders who advertise on eBay. UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy, 25(1), 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Best, J., & Luckenbill, D.F. (1982/1994). Organizing Deviance. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

  • Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, S. W. (2002). Organized cybercrime? How cyberspace May affect the structure of criminal relationships. North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, 4(1), 1–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, S.W. (2003). Toward a Criminal Law for Cyberspace: Distributed Security. Berkeley Electronic Press, Legal Series, Paper 15.

  • Brenner, S. W. (2006). Cybercrime: Re-thinking crime control strategies. In Y. Jewkes (Ed.), Crime online: Committing, policing and regulating cybercrime. Cullompton: Willan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadhurst, B., Grabosky, P., Alazab, M., & Chon, S. (2014). Organizations and cyber crime: an analysis of the nature of groups engaged in cyber crime. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 8(1), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bush, E. R., Baker, S. E., & MacDonald, D. W. (2014). Global trade in exotic pets 2006–2012. Conservation Biology, 28(3), 663–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cantu, J. C., Sanchez Saldana, M. E., Grosselet, M., & Gamez, J. S. (2007). The illegal parrot trade in Mexico: A comprehensive assessment. Washington: Defenders of Wildlife.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castells, M., & Cardoso, G. (Eds.). (2005). The network society. From knowledge to policy. Washington: John Hopkins Center for Transatlantic Relations.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. K. (1977). The concept of criminal organisation. The British Journal of Criminology, 17(2), 97–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: a routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D., Roberts, M., & Lowther, J. (2002). The International Wildlife Trade and Organised Crime. A review of the evidence and the role of the UK. Regional Research Institute, University of Wolverhampton. Report, Woking, UK: WWF.

  • Cooper, S. (2006). Inside the cartels that built empires and destroyed species. Seedmagazine. http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_caviar_ kings/. Accessed on 15 March 2014.

  • Cressey, D.D. (1969/2008). Theft of the nation. The Structure and Operations of Organized Crime in America. New Brunswick: Transaction edition.

  • Cressey, D. D. (1972). Criminal organization: Its elementary forms. London: Heinemann Educational Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalberg. (2012). Fighting Illicit Wildlife Trafficking: A Consultation with Governments. Report, Gland (Switzerland):WWF.

  • Einstadter, W. J. (1969). The social organization of armed robbery. Social Problems, 17(1), 64–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engler, M., & Parry-Jones, R. (2007). Opportunity or threat. The role of the European Union in global wildlife trade. Report, Brussels: TRAFFIC Europe.

  • Felson, M. (2006). The ecosystem for organized crime. HEUNI Paper no. 26. Helsinki: Heuni.

  • Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for quaaalllitative research. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grabosky, P. N. (2007). The internet, technology, and organized crime. Asian Journal of Criminology, 2(2), 145–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holbrook, J. D., DeYoung, R. W., Tewes, M. E., Young, J. H., Mays, J. L., & Meyers, E. (2011). Natural dispersal or illegal pets? Limitations on assigning origin to road-killed ocelots in the southwestern United States. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 35(4), 504–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt T. J. (2009). Lone Hacks or Group Cracks: Examining the Social Organization of Computer Hackers. In F. Schmallager and M. Pittaro (Eds.) Crimes of the Internet. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

  • Holt, T. J. (2013). Exploring the social organisation and structure of stolen data markets. Global Crime, 14(1–2), 155–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., & Lampke, E. (2010). Exploring stolen data markets online. Criminal Justice Studies, 23(1), 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huey, L., Nhan, J., & Broll, R. (2012). ‘Uppity Civilians’ and ‘Cyber-Vigilantes’: the role of general public in policing cyber-crime. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 13(1), 81–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IFAW. (2005). Caught in the Web: Wildlife trade on the Internet. Report, London: International Fund for Animal Welfare.

  • IFAW. (2008a). Criminal Nature: The Global Security Implications of the Illegal Wildlife Trade. Report, Yarmouth Port, MA: International Fund for Animal Welfare.

  • IFAW. (2008b). Killing with Keystrokes. http://www.ifaw.org/sites/default/files/Killing%20with%20Keystrokes.pdf. Accessed on 15 March 2014.

  • IFAW. (2012). Killing with keystrokes 2.0: IFAW’s investigation into the European online ivory trade. Report, Yarmouth Port, MA: International Fund for Animal Welfare

  • Interpol. (2013). Project Web. An investigation into the ivory trade over the Internet within the European Union. Lyon: Interpol

  • Izzo, J.B. (2010). PC pets for a price: Combating online and traditional wildlife crime through international harmonization and authoritative policies. William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review, Spring.

  • Jaishankar, K. (2009). Space Transition Theory of cyber crimes. In F. Schmallager and M. Pittaro (Eds.) Crimes of the Internet. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

  • Jewkes, Y. (Ed.). (2003). Dot.Cons. Crime, deviance and identity on the internet. Collumpton & Portland: Willan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jewkes, Y., & Yar, M. (2008). Policing cybercrime: emerging trends and future challenges. In T. Newburn (Ed.), Handbook of policing (2nd edn.). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • LAV (2014a) Traffico di Cuccioli. http://www.lav.it/cosa-facciamo/cani-e-gatti/come-merce. Accessed on 28 Dec 2014.

  • LAV (2014b). Urgenti misure a contrasto del traffico illegale di specie. http://www.lav.it/news/oggi-e-il-world-wildlife-day-urgenti-misure-a-contrasto-del-traffico-illegale-di-specie. Accessed on 28 Dec 2014.

  • Lavorgna, A. (2014). Wildlife trafficking in the internet age. Crime Science, 3(5), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavorgna, A. (2015). Organised crime goes online: realities and challenges. Journal of Money Laundering Control 18(2). doi:10.1108/JMLC-10-2014-0035.

  • Lavorgna, A., & Sergi, A. (2014). Types of organized crime in Italy. The multifaceted spectrum of Italian criminal associations and their different attitudes in the financial crisis an in the use of internet technologies. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 42(1), 16–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons, J. A., Natusch, D. J., & Shepherd, C. R. (2013). The harvest of freshwater turtles (Chelidae) from Papua, Indonesia, for the international pet trade. Oryx, 47(2), 298–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mack, J. A. (1972). The able criminal. British Journal of Criminology, 12(1), 44–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, D., & Sutton, M. (1998). Netcrime: more change in the organization of thieving. British Journal of Criminology, 38(2), 210–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCormick, C. (1995). Constructing Danger: The Mis/Representation of Crime in the news. Halifax; Fernwood Books.

  • McGuire, M. (2007). Hypercrime. The new geometry of harm. Oxon & New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuire, M. (2012). Organised crime in the digital Age. London: John Grieve Centre for Policing and Security.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntosh, M. (1975). The organization of crime. London: The Macmillan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMullan, J. L., & Perrier, C. D. (2003). Technologies of crime: the cyber-attacks on electronic gambling machines. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 45(2), 159–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMullan, J. L., & Rege, A. (2010). Online crime and internet gambling. Journal of Gambling Issues, 24, 54–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meijer, P. C., Verloop, N., & Beijaard, D. (2002). Multi-method triangulation in qualitative study on Teachers’ practical knowledge: an attempt to increase internal validity. Quality & Quantity, 36, 145–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G. (1978). Odd jobs. The world of deviant work. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morse, J. M., Barret, M., Mayan, M., Olson, K., & Spiers, J. (2002). Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(2), 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Natusch, D. J., & Lyons, J. A. (2012). Exploited for pets: the harvest and trade of amphibians and reptiles from Indonesian New Guinea. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21(11), 2899–2911.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nurse, A. (2011). Policing wildlife: perspectives on criminality in wildlife crime. The British Criminology Conference, 11, 38–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M. Q. (1999). Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis. Health Service Research, 34(5), 1189–1208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potter, G.W. (1994). Criminal Organizations. Vice, Racketeering, and Politics in an American City. Prospect Heights: Waveland.

  • Reeve, R. (2006). Wildlife trade, sanctions and compliance: lessons from the CITES regime. International Affairs, 82(5), 881–897.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruggiero, V. (2000). Crime and markets. Essays in anti-criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sajeva, M., Augugliaro, C., Smith, M. J., & Oddo, E. (2013). Regulating internet trade in CITES species. Conservation Biology, 27(2), 429–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sand, P. H. (1997). Whither CITES? the evolution of a treaty regime in the borderland of trade and environment. European Journal of International Law, 8(1), 29–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, J.L. (2012). Sold into extinction: the global trade in endangered species. Santa Barbara, Calif, Praeger

  • Shover, N. (1972). Structures and careers in burglary. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 63(4), 540–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slater, L. (2014). Wild Obsession. The perilous attraction of owning exotic pets. National Geographic. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/exotic-pets/slater-text cu Accessed on 15 March 2014.

  • Sollund, R. (2011). Expressions of speciesism: the effects of keeping companion animals on animal abuse, animal trafficking and species decline. Crime, Law and Social Change, 55(5), 437–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suler, J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(3), 321–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, E. H. (1937). The professional thief. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, E.H. (1949/1961). White Collar Crime. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

  • Tade, O., & Aliyu, I. (2011). Social organization of internet fraud among university undergraduates in Nigeria. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 5(2), 860–875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Troiano, C. (2011). Rapporto Zoomafia 2011. Crimini seriali a danno degli animali. Report, Roma: LAV.

  • Troiano, C. (2013). Rapporto Zoomafia 2013. Sistemi criminali e animali. Report, Roma: LAV.

  • UNODC. (2002). Global Programme against transnational organized crime: Results of a pilot survey of forty selected organized criminal groups in sixteen countries. Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

  • von Lampe, K. (2003). Criminally exploitable ties: A network approach to organized crime. In E. C. Viano, J. Magallanes, & L. Bridel (Eds.), Transnational organized crime. Myth, power, and profit. Durham: Carolina Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall, D.S. (2007). Cybercrime: The transformation of crime in the information age. Cambridge: Polity

  • Wall, D. S., & Williams, M. (2007). Policing diversity in the digital age. Maintaining order in virtual communities. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 7(4), 391–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warchol, G. L. (2004). The international illegal wildlife trafficking. Criminal Justice Studies: a Journal of Crime, Law and Society, 17(1), 57–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittemore, R., Chase, S. K., & Mandle, C. L. (2001). Validity in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 11(4), 522–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J. (2007). World without borders: wildlife trade on the Chinese-language internet. TRAFFIC Bulletin, 21(2), 75–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wyatt, T. (2009). Exploring the organization of Russia Far East’s illegal wildlife trade: two case studies of the illegal fur and illegal falcon trades. Global Crime, 10(1–2), 144–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M. E. (2003). The black market for wildlife: combating transnational organized crime in the illegal wildlife trade. Vanderbilt Journal of transnational Law, 36, 1657–1689.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, D. H., & Wieder, L. D. (1977). You Can’t help but Get stoned: notes on the social organization of marijuana smoking. Social Problems, 25(2), 198–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving the final version of the paper. I would also like to express my gratitude to Steve Iafrati and John McDaniel who assisted in the proof-reading of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Science, University of Wolverhampton, Millennium City Building University of Wolverhampton Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LY, UK

    Anita Lavorgna

Authors
  1. Anita Lavorgna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anita Lavorgna.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 2 Keyword search on Italian newspaper online archives. The following table presents the keyword search carried out on the most read Italian newspapers with a regional or macro-regional coverage to identify relevant case studies (http://www.primaonline.it/2012/03/19/103569/quotidiani-dicembre-2011/). The regions of Italy (n = 20) are the first-level administrative division of the State
Full size table
Table 3 Characteristics of different forms of the social organization of deviants. The following table presents Best and Luckenbill’s typology. It refers to the pattern of relationships among deviant actors in the context of a deviant activity, and it shows how the social organization of deviants varies along a dimension of sophistication
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lavorgna, A. The Social Organization of Pet Trafficking in Cyberspace. Eur J Crim Policy Res 21, 353–370 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-015-9273-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-015-9273-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation