(Yicai Global) Nov. 23 -- Internet giants Baidu Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU], Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA] and Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HKG:0700], collectively known as China's BAT companies, have co-sponsored an alliance in conjunction with eight other internet firms to combat the illegal trade involving animals online, online media outlet The Paper reported.

Illegal wildlife trade has shifted from the physical market to online trading and social media platforms due to greater law enforcement offline and the rapid growth of e-commerce.

Member companies will scrutinize trade information on wildlife and wildlife products on their platforms, remove illegal information in a timely manner, and monitor and handle suspicious users to prevent illegal information from spreading on the Internet, while at the same time cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

"TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) are pleased to see that BAT companies are launching this alliance of internet companies to gain wider access to joint efforts to combat online wildlife crime. TRAFFIC and WWF will fully encourage and support Chinese enterprises in playing a leading role in the global issue of combating the illegal trade of wildlife online," Zhou Fei, head of TRAFFIC's China Program said.