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Context: Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a leading concern for conservation and biosecurity agencies globally, and involves multiple source, transit, and destination countries smuggling species on a transnational scale. The contribution of non-range countries for driving demand in IWT is often overlooked. Aims: We analysed the dynamics (source, type and quantity) of bear seizures in Australia and New Zealand to gain a deeper understanding of the IWT, and to raise awareness among enforcement agencies for mitigating the international smuggling of bear parts and derivatives, and reducing the global threat to bears from illegal exploitation. Methods: We collated biosecurity and conservation enforcement agency records of CITES seizures from Australia and New Zealand. All of the seizures were declared for 'personal use'. Key results: We report on 781 seizures of bear parts and derivatives in Australia and New Zealand from 33 countries over the past decade. The majority of seizures were medicinal (gall bladder and bile) products, but also included a range of body parts, hunting trophies and meat. China was the source of the greatest number of seizures, however, 32 additional source and transit countries/territories (from Asia, Europe, Americas, Middle East and Africa) were also involved in the seizures of bear parts and their derivatives. Conclusions: The widespread trade of bears is an example of the far-reaching consequences commercial use can have on threatened species. Australia and New Zealand have no native bear species, and yet are frequently involved in wildlife seizures, and illegal bear trade continues to be an enforcement issue. Implications: IWT has a detrimental impact on the conservation of bears. Conservation research in non-range countries needs to be conducted to determine the demand and threats from IWT, and to increase collaborative strategies to counter transnational smuggling. Illegal wildlife trade is a leading cause of biodiversity loss globally. Australia and New Zealand are destination countries for an array of bear parts and derivatives, despite not having any native bear species themselves. In order to combat the illegal trade in bears, non-range countries need to ensure they are participating in global conservation and enforcement activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Live animal smuggling presents a suite of conservation and biosecurity concerns, including the introduction of invasive species and diseases. Yet, understanding why certain species are smuggled over others, and predicting which species will be smuggled, remains relatively unexplored. Here, we compared the live reptile species illegally smuggled to Australia (75 species) to the legal trade of live reptile species in the United States. Almost all smuggled species were found in the legal US pet market (74 species), and we observed an average time lag of 5.6 years between a species first appearing in the United States and its subsequent detection in Australia. Using a Bayesian regression model, species popularity in the United States, and internationally, were positively associated with smuggling probability to Australia. Our findings give insight to the drivers of illegal wildlife trade and our predictive modelling approach provides a framework for anticipating future trends in wildlife smuggling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Research on amphibian invasions has largely focused on the likelihood of successful establishment, while analysis of the previous stages in the invasion pathway (transport and introduction) is scarce despite its critical importance. Here, we investigate the patterns of taxonomic and geographic non-randomness as well as the factors affecting the transport and introduction of amphibians. Location Australia. Methods We compiled and analysed a database on the identity of transported and introduced amphibians. First, we tested for taxonomic (family level) and geographic non-randomness by comparing transported and introduced species with all extant caudates and anurans. Second, we constructed models to examine the influence of different factors upon the probability of transport and introduction of amphibians in Australia. Results Amphibians were transported via two main pathways: trade (71 species) and stowaway (38 species). In addition, several species were transported through both pathways. Transported species represented a taxonomic and geographic non-random sample of all extant amphibian species. Conversely, introduced species constituted a random sample of the transported amphibians. Regardless of the transport pathway, the probability of transport of amphibians increased with increasing extent of their native geographical range. A large number of native Australian species have been transported outside their naturally occurring ranges, representing over 65% of the introduced species. Introduction is strongly correlated with the transport pathway, that is, species transported through two pathways were more likely to be released or escape from captivity. Main conclusions The probability of amphibians being transported and introduced to, or within, Australia is critically affected by their availability to be captured, bred and housed in captivity. Management strategies to prevent the future introduction and establishment of new amphibians need to include the people involved in species trade, as well as continued vigilance by biosecurity and custom agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international trade of non-domesticated pets impacts both conservation and biosecurity via the harvest and release of live animals beyond their native distributions. The extent to which individual countries mitigate these impacts via regulation of trade is inconsistent, as is their capacity to monitor internet facilitated trade. We investigated the online trade of vertebrate pets within Australia, a country with a reputation for relatively stringent pet-importation regulations and world-class border biosecurity. Using semi-automated data mining (i.e., webscraping) techniques, we collected online pet trade data over the course of 14 weeks from 12 Australian e-commerce platforms selected using an a priori set of search terms. We analysed spatial, temporal and taxonomic biases in trade and identified instances of high rates of trade in: (i) threatened species, (ii) non-native species, (iii) and species not permissible for live import. We identified over 100,000 individual live animals across 1192 species, including: 667 non-native species for sale within Australia from 03/12/2019 to 20/03/2020 (mammals were excluded from our analysis). Our findings constitute a much greater scale (in terms of abundance and richness) of non-native species trade than previously recorded in Australia. Substantial changes to legislative control of domestically traded pets are needed at the national level to reduce the volume of non-native pets that may contribute to the establishment of invasive species in Australia. We suggest that contemporary examples of permit systems applied to native taxa may provide a valuable template for the implementation of such changes. • The vertebrate pet trade in Australia is subject to strict import laws, but inconsistent domestic trade regulations. • We use webscrapers to collect online pet trade data from 12 Australian websites over 14 weeks prior to COVID disruptions. • We found 1192 species being within Australia, including 667 non-native species and 81 threatened species. • The trade in non-native pets is highly unregulated, including 279 species that are illegal to commercially import. • Trade of taxonomically undescribed taxa was widespread, with 'pseudo-taxonomic' names used by hobbyists instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]