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| A few years back there was a popular video of a pet slow loris circulating on social media. They do not make good pets. |
This is SOOOO WRONG! Whether the animal itself was captive bred or not, images like these encourage people to think owning wildlife means they will have a 'cute' pet - no consideration for the damage to the species, the illegal trade (serious crime involved in wildlife trade from primates to orchids), and the damage to the environment they live in.
Don't think this is a big problem? Check this out - Tech companies take down 3 million online listings for trafficked wildlife. Yes, 3 million, and as well as each one of those posts, there are thousands of other wildlife traded in posts that are 'disguised' on social media (eg ivory sold as white plastic). I won't even start on the wildlife markets, but they are almost certainly to thank for Corona Virus jumping to humans.
Please - if you see a cute picture of a wild animal kept as a pet, do not hit like or share, but report it to the admins of the site/group and point out the danger of encouraging people to want wild animals as pets.
(Oh, and in case you think this is just a problem in Asia, if you go on holiday and bring back a shell, or an item made of a rare wood, you may well be committing a crime too!)
Further information:
- TRAFFIC - the charity tackling international trade in wildlife
- WWF - who partner closely with TRAFFIC to stop illegal wildlife trade
- IFAW/Responsible Travel - and the danger of wildlife holiday souvenirs
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