Leopards, zebras and chimpanzees are all for sale in Britain at the click of a mouse, a Midland MP has warned.
Mark Pritchard (Con The Wrekin) called for new laws to stamp out the trade in endangered animals on the internet.
He said he found enough animals for sale to fill a small zoo, from the comfort of his office. Speaking in the Commons, he said: "I logged on to the internet and could have purchased a leopard, a zebra, sea turtles, chimpanzees, an American bald eagle, an alligator, a mountain lion and a Lear's macaw."
The internet trade in endangered animals was valued at about £3 billion in the UK, he said.
"In August 2005, the International Fund for Animal Welfare found that 9,000 endangered live animals were offered for sale online in one week.
"That same research found that 146 primates were available for sale in the UK. All of the sales were illegal. We do not know where the animals involved in such sales come from, how they are transported, or the conditions in which they are kept."
Internet service providers should be asked to help stamp out the trade, he said.
