Amidst piracy debate, Taobao accused of allowing sale of illegal wildlife

Any Alfred Hitchcock fan knows that birds can be threantening. And now Chinese ecommerce platform Taobao could be at risk of getting pecked. China-based birding enthusiasts have discovered several species of wild birds available for sale on Taobao. And although this listing was reported to the company on October 15, it has yet to respond or remove the birds from Taobao.

Terry Townshend, the founder of Birding Beijing, told Tech in Asia that the birds for sale are local species of larks. “Larks are very difficult to breed in captivity, so these are obviously wild birds, especially as they only seem to appear for sale during their typical migration season,” said Terry.

In China, it is illegal to take any bird from the wild without a permit, and birds like these are apparently not meant to be sold. However, Terry explained, “Many species such as these are sold openly in markets and online because State Forestry Police don’t know how to identify birds and therefore don’t know if they are taken from the wild or born in captivity.”

It is possible, though unlikely, that the seller could have had a permit to procure these birds. Only Alibaba itself is likely to know whether the seller provided any sort of documentation that these birds were acquired legally, but it doesn’t seem to be sharing whatever information it has. Alibaba has yet to respond to an email sent to Alibaba PR personnel nearly a week ago by on this topic from China-watcher and birding enthusiast Jeremy Goldkorn. Tech in Asia itself also contacted several different Alibaba reps more than 24 hours ago to request comment or clarification, but did not receive a response.

Notorious pirate?

Although a few illegal birds on Taobao might seem inconsequential – especially since none have actually been sold yet – this would certainly be an awkward story for Alibaba if it were to be seized upon by the mainstream press. Now is not a good time for Alibaba’s ability to keep illegal products off of its platforms to be called into question, because the US Trade Representative is currently pondering who to add to this year’s list of “notorious” pirate markets, and some have already suggested Taobao should return.

After finally getting Taobao removed from the United States’s notorious piracy list back in 2012, in recent days Alibaba has found itself lobbying US trade officials to maintain the status quo. The American Apparel & Footwear Association – which has a long history of criticizing with the Chinese ecommerce giant – requested the company be put back on the naughty list, causing Alibaba to submit letters highlighting changes it has made to piracy reporting systems and controls and arguing it should not be on the list.

The larks for sale on Taobao are not pirated, of course. But if they were illegally acquired, their presence – and Alibaba’s failure to do anything about it thus far – could certainly call into question the company’s argument that it should not return to the notorious pirate list because it now keeps tighter control and is more responsive to reporting in its listings. Although not a piracy case, the birds still represent a potential PR threat.

Will Alibaba allow the larks to stay listed on Taobao? Until the company responds, there’s no way to know. But Beijing’s bird enthusiasts will be hoping to see the listing removed swiftly. And Alibaba fans might be hoping for that outcome, too.