discussion / Wildlife Crime  / 4 January 2016

Illegal wildlife sales on social media

A great example of enforcement where illegal wildlife sales were detected on social media: 

Facebook Investigation Leads to Turtle Thieves

An investigation on Facebook recently led to the arrest of two suspects in connection to the theft of critically endangered Burmese star tortoises. The stolen tortoises had identification numbers, religious markings on their shells and microchips embedded in them.

"Seven tortoises were confiscated from the home of one of the suspects upon his arrest on December 22 in Khon Khaen Province, in northeast Thailand. Three of the confiscated tortoises were determined to be among others stolen in October from a wildlife sanctuary in central Myanmar, where WCS and TSA conservationists have been working with the Myanmar Forest Department to reintroduce the species back into the wild. The origin of the four other tortoises is unknown. The second suspect was arrested after the first said he had purchased the tortoises from him in a market. No tortoises were found on the second suspect but he was arrested after an illegally obtained orangutan was found in his possession."
 




This post made me wander whether we could employ social media listening tools to identify illegal wildlife trade hotspots, levels, changes in attitude towards IWT products etc.? Perhaps already being done? Here's some case studies from Brandwatch of how brands are using social media listening: https://www.brandwatch.com/case-studies/