For years, CITES — the United Nations’ multilateral treaty aimed at protecting endangered plants and animals from threats posed by international trade — has focused on combating wildlife trafficking networks that smuggle exotic animals from forests and breeding centres to meet demand from private zoos and the traditional medicine trade.
Now, the treaty, conservationists and policymakers have another aspect of this trade to tackle: the rise of the “petfluencer” — a blend of pet and influencer — on social media and in online marketing.
At the upcoming COP20, to be held in Uzbekistan later this month, policymakers from Thailand and India will raise the alarming rise in exotic animal smuggling from Thailand to India that has come about to satisfy demand driven by petfluencers.
These petfluencers have millions of followers, with one example being “Nala the Cat”, who endorses products ranging from cat food to mobile apps.
The popularity of this growing digital form of marketing has also driven demand for exotic pets, inspiring others to find and use them to promote products online.
Amid this trend, Thailand has become one of the major sources of exotic pets, with online influencers, especially from India, travelling to Thailand to find animals for their social media feeds.
Since last year, officials in Thailand and India have confiscated 1,092 wild animals from flights between the two nations, valued at up to 50 million baht.
One hundred and thirty people of Indian nationality have been arrested for smuggling wild animals from Thailand to India, according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s (DNP) director Attaphol Charoenchansa.
Smuggled exotic animals comprise reptiles, fish, exotic turtles, small snakes and exotic spiders. These animals are hidden in luggage or even on smugglers’ bodies, according to Polawee Buchakiet, director of the Wildlife Crime Intelligence Centre under the DNP.
The global wildlife trade is the fourth most lucrative criminal enterprise, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The petfluencer trend also drives Thailand’s local pet market.
Last year alone, petfluencers supported a growing pet market valued at 7.5 billion baht. To keep netizens engaged, marketers turn to more exotic animals, such as iguanas, foxes, and wildlife species like tiger cubs and baby orangutans.
Meanwhile, little has been mentioned about animal welfare and, above all, public safety. These exotic animals might look cute for a while before some of them reach their full size.
It is about time for the government and society to pay real attention to this trend before it worsens.
Educational institutes and schools must educate students about the behaviour of wild animals. Meanwhile, law enforcers must be vigilant in cracking down on illegal breeders and illegal zoos.
No matter how lovely and exotic these animals are, their homes are in nature or, at least, in an appropriate zoo, not caged or turned into marketing tools.