1、ONLINE and international TRADE IN LIVE CHEETAHSJanuary 2024BRIEFING DOCUMENT2 ONLINE AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVE CHEETAHSOVERVIEWA six-month survey undertaken by TRAFFIC between October 2022 and March 2023 reaffirms the use of the internet to trade in or display ownership of live cheetahs as pet

2、s.This rapid assessment aimed to build on previous work undertaken by researchers investigating the online trade in live cheetahs to determine if any notable changes have occurred or if new trade dynamics have emerged.Some noteworthy patterns from this survey are highlighted below:PREFERRED ONLINE P

3、LATFORMS:Users have changed their security and privacy settings of online profiles to restrict public accessThe creation of new or multiple profiles by the same user.Users no longer use commerce language;in some incidences,posts contain only images of cheetahs with no accompanying text.Discrepancies

4、 existed between the number of URLs advertising or displaying live cheetahs and CITES-reported imports of live cheetahs in Kuwait,Saudi Arabia,and Yemen.Convergence and links to the trade in other wildlifeas pets,including birds,reptiles,primates,and other big cats and small mammals.Countries in Wes

5、tern Asia continued to play a dominant role in the trade of live cheetahs online,many linked to private or individual ownership in addition to zoos or safari parks.INTRODUCTIONThe Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus is one of the most threatened big cats globally,and the species is currently only found in 9%of

6、 their historical range limited to highly fragmented pockets in Africa and Asia.According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature(IUCN)Red List of Threatened Species,cheetahs are classified as Vulnerable to extinction,and only 6,500 mature individuals are estimated to remain(Durant