China, Vietnam, Laos are hotspots for the criminal wildlife trade: does Asia really care about biodiversity?
Pangolin scales at US$160 a kilogram, monkeys and wild cats for sale – the online trade in protected and rare species is thriving in Laos, a key Southeast Asian gateway to the insatiable Chinese and Vietnamese markets for animal products.
As world leaders gather in Egypt for the COP27 conference to address the climate crisis – and fringe events discuss the entwined conservation questions surrounding biodiversity – Asia’s internet remains a bustling marketplace for the wildlife trade.
Laos, which borders both China and Vietnam, is already an arterial route for the multibillion-dollar illegal trade in smuggled rhinoceros horn, tiger parts, ivory and pangolin.
Aidan Jones
