People Are Using TikTok to Sell Endangered Animals to Eat

"Critically endangered animals are being advertised for sale as bushmeat on TikTok, a new study finds. The work, published recently in Nature Conservation, underscores the growing role social media plays in the global illegal wildlife trade. Bushmeatmeat sourced from wild animalsis commonly eaten in many African and some Asian countries. Though some people hunt for personal consumption, many hunters sell meat to regional traders, who may then sell it to families or restaurants."

"The new study builds on older research linking social media to the wildlife trade. A 2023 study, for example, showed how Facebook was used by the bushmeat trade in West Africa. Now TikTok is on the rise in Africawhich led an international team of researchers to examine its potential role in the illegal wildlife trade in Lome, Togo. The researchers assessed 80 videos from two public TikTok accounts, recording an estimated 27 species and 3,526 individual animals, including endangered pangolins and a vulnerable antelope species."

Researchers analyzed 80 public TikTok videos from two accounts connected to markets in Lomé, Togo, identifying an estimated 27 species and 3,526 individual animals. The footage included critically endangered pangolins and a vulnerable antelope species. Accounts primarily advertised meat for sale at physical markets rather than completing sales on the platform. TikTok functions as a virtual marketplace that reaches wider audiences than roadside stalls or urban markets, increasing accessibility and potentially scaling demand. Earlier research documented Facebook use in the bushmeat trade in West Africa. TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.

Read at www.scientificamerican.com