The dynamics of the online wildlife trade in mammalian species on Instagram and Facebook in Indonesia

The wildlife trade is an ongoing issue for wildlife, conservationists, and law enforcement around the world and it stimulates billions of dollars each year mostly illegally. This thesis focuses on the online wildlife trade (OWT) and the dynamics behind the developed system that is rapidly growing in accordance with internet usage. This research utilizes Grounded Theory which is a method of developing hypotheses and theories that dictate the future course of the research throughout data collection and analysis. A social media investigation on the OWT was conducted on Instagram and Facebook in Indonesia between 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 in two separate trials identifying 386 social media profiles run by 264 unique actors, reflecting the presence of the OWT detailed in the literature. The trade chain revealed differences in actors, wildlife product, supply methods, and geography. Over 104 different species and 16,392 individuals from the mammalian focal orders Carnivora, Dermoptera, Diprotodontia, Pholidota, and Primates were found for sale. Of this, 93.7% of the trade involved native species of Indonesia, 40.5% of trade was determined to be illegal based on Indonesian law, and 22.4% involved threatened species telling there’s a heavy local trade with questions of legality but still a small amount of international trade. In reference to geography, 69% of the sellers lived in Java, Indonesia and international trade indicated links to Africa, Asia, and South America. Social network analysis (SNA) found 10 separate supply groups (SG) (SG1-SG10) involving 38.6% of the focal group that operate together revealing the expansion of networks on social media. Roughly 15% of profiles were deleted by the social media platforms with policies against the OWT, indicating a smaller than ideal response to its presence, and sellers post they are aware that this happens. Marketing in the OWT revealed that most sellers (40%) branded themselves as a business, receiving a higher profile reach and engagement rates on their content, and reporting their marketing strategies are effective. An assessment of welfare conditions showed that 39.0% of photographs or videos displayed images that violate the Five Freedoms of animal welfare and although this data is limited due to being behind a screen, it still highlights visible negative welfare conditions. This research adds information about the dynamics of the OWT to the literature which could support others in developing research, conservation marketing campaigns, and intervention strategies.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Author dc:creator

• Foreman, Grace

Contributors dc:contributor

• Nijman, Vincent
• Nekaris, Anna

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/2dgk-2a59

OAI identifier oai:identifier

tle:90f3ee81-8a20-4fcf-9fea-1fbe3456ddc5:d6bd9758-527a-46cd-bfe2-c433766e8fca:1