Illegal animal trade uncovered on Facebook in Thailand

A wildlife trafficking watchdog is calling out Facebook for hundreds of listings of animals in Thailand.

TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organization, is releasing a report today detailing a multiyear investigation that monitored Facebook groups that facilitated the sale of wildlife. The listings included live and dead animals, as well as animal body parts according to the BBC.

Of the over 1,500 animal listings discovered by TRAFFIC, more than half of the animals offered up for trade are protected under Thailand’s Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act. Some of the listed animals, such as the Helmeted Hornbill and the Siamese crocodile are a critically endangered species. In the case of a species like the Helmeted Hornbill and the Siamese crocodile, TRAFFIC says its critically endangered status meant that even a single creature removed from the wild would be detrimental for the species’ survival.

In total, the group found listings for 200 species. Listings included animals native to Thailand, like the Asiatic black bear, as well as species not native to the country like the Eurasian otter and the black spotted turtle, all of which are barred from international trade.

The listings were all uncovered by TRAFFIC during a single month in 2016. They were discovered across 12 different animal trade Facebook groups the organization was monitoring. While two Facebook groups have since shut down, TRAFFIC revisited the remaining groups to analyze in 2018. The organization found that total membership across the groups had grown. In 2016, total membership of all the animal trade Facebook groups monitored by TRAFFIC was 106,111. Now, two years later, the groups boast a total of 203,445 members.

Facebook policy prohibits the sale of any animals -- domesticated pets, livestock, or otherwise. In a statement to the BBC, a Facebook spokesperson said "Facebook does not allow the sale or trade of endangered species or their parts, and we remove this material as soon as we are aware of it. We are committed to working with Traffic and law enforcement authorities to help tackle the illegal online trade of wildlife in Thailand."

As Gizmodo points out, Facebook provided a similar statement to the BBC two years ago when TRAFFIC released a report on the same types of illegal wildlife sales Facebook groups operating in Malaysia.

Earlier this year, it was reported that a complaint was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the National Whistleblower Center on behalf of an informant over advertising that was being displayed on Facebook groups engaging in the illegal wildlife trade. The complaint accused Facebook of monetizing groups selling rhino horn, elephant ivory, and other threatened animal body parts.

Mashable has reached out to Facebook for comment and will update this story when we hear back.