App lets Aussies dob in wildlife traders

Mr Hobbs was a few months old when he was saved from a Cambodian cooking pot.

The sun bear cub, no bigger than a puppy, was found in a restaurant and rescued by an Australian businessman.

He had been destined to become the main ingredient in bear paw soup.

Now, almost two decades later, his long-time home Taronga Zoo has launched an app that could help free other illegally trafficked wildlife.

The WildLife Witness app allows Australian travellers at home or in Southeast Asia to report suspicious wildlife activity by lodging a picture and GPS location.

Illegal activity will be reported to local authorities after being analysed by wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic.

Taronga's Community Conservation manager Kira Husher said the app would gather data on trading hot spots.

She encouraged people to report any suspicious activity at markets, in restaurants or in the bush but warned the app should not be used to report cruelty to dogs, cats or livestock.

The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth $19 billion a year and Australian native animals are traded worldwide as pets.

Ms Husher said about 100 elephants were killed every day.

And it's not just animals at risk.

"Over 100 wildlife rangers have been killed in the last 10 years - and often directly by poachers," she told AAP.