Apes continue to be trafficked to meet the demand for pets or zoos. Indonesia, the most diverse country in terms of ape species, has been implicated in the global trade in gibbons, orangutans and, to a lesser degree, chimpanzees. Recently trade has shifted to online platforms, a trend that may have been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and partial lockdowns. We assessed the availability of legally protected apes for sale on Facebook and Instagram over two 16-months periods (2017–2018 and 2020–2021). Despite Facebook and Instagram explicitly banning the sale of endangered animals, and Facebook not allowing the sale of live animals, we found 106 gibbons, 17 orangutans and four chimpanzees for sale on five Facebook pages and 19 Instagram accounts. All orangutans and chimpanzees and 70% of the gibbons were infants or juveniles. We did not record any obvious responses of vendors to the Covid-19 pandemic. Facebook and Instagram accounts were linked (similar names, cross-referencing each other and announcing new accounts on existing ones), names were altered (e.g., “petshop” to “pethsop”) and new vendors emerged for short periods. Facebook and Instagram’s policy of not allowing the sale of live and/or endangered wildlife on their platforms is not effectively implemented in Indonesia.
Monitoring illegal wildlife trade and how the modus operandi of traders changes over time is of vital importance to mitigate the negative effects this trade can have on wild populations. We focused on the trade of birds of prey in Indonesia (2016–2021) in bird markets (12 markets, 194 visits), on Instagram (19 seller profiles) and on Facebook (11 open groups). We link species prevalence and asking prices to body size, abundance and geographic range. Smaller species were more traded in bird markets and less so online. Abundance in trade is in part linked to their abundance in the wild. Asking prices (mean of USD 87) are positively correlated with size and negatively with their abundance in the wild. Authorities seize birds of prey according to their observed abundance in trade, but only 10% of seizures lead to successful prosecutions. The trade is in violation of national laws and the terms and conditions of the online platforms; the low prosecution rate with minimal fines shows a lack of recognition of the urgency of the threat that trade poses to already imperilled wildlife. The shift of trade from physical bird markets to the online marketplace necessitates a different strategy both for monitoring and enforcement.
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