VIRAL CRIME - Conservationists call for crackdown on TikTok’s illegal trade in endangered species

Concerns are growing over the use of social media platform TikTok as a marketplace for the sale of endangered Jamaican species, with conservation biologist Damion Whyte urging the authorities to make every effort to find and prosecute individuals who engage in the practice. 

He warns that the trend could further threaten already vulnerable populations. 

“An example needs to be set by the authorities that they mean business, and if you [get] caught doing stuff like this, you need to face the consequences. There needs to be education, but there also needs to be enforcement,” he said.

He pointed to a recent livestream on the platform where a Jamaica boa was being auctioned off for sale. 

Also known as the Yellow Snake, the Jamaica boa is considered a threatened species, classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list. It is the largest snake on the island, growing on average to just above two metres or up to seven feet. The feed mainly on bats, brids, lizards, rodents and frogs.

The TikTtoker displayed the snake wrapped around a stick to the almost 800 viewers watching the livestream, as several people inquired about location and price, while some alerted him to the fact that this was an endangered species. 

However, the TikToker dismissed the concerns, and instead, told interested buyers to message him directly. 

Section 40 of the Endangered Species (Protection, Conservation and Regulation of Trade) Act, 2000 declares it an offence to trade in any specimen of a species deemed endangered or may become endangered, without a valid permit or certificate.

Breach of this law can result in a fine not exceeding $1 million, imprisonment for up to one year, or both for a first offence, while a fine up to $2 million, imprisonment for up to two years, or both is meted out for a second offence. 

Peeved at what he says is the flagrant disregard for the law on the social media platform, Whyte told The Gleaner that authorities should urgently seek to curb the practice urgently. 

“It form di trend weh yuh see seh you can mek something on TikTok, you get more likes, yuh get more people coming on, you getting money. All this is doing is getting more people to do it, and it is also encouraging more people now to find an easy place and a marketplace to sell these animals, whether it is our local stuff or they’re selling things from overseas,” he said.

“If this continue where you can come and do what you want to do with the crocodile, sea turtle, snake, you can come and do [whatever] with the bird, it’s gonna have an impact on the populations,” he added. 

However, when contacted by The Gleaner, the TikToker, who requested anonymity, denied that he was trying to sell the Jamaican boa via the platform despite initially privately offering it to the reporter for $45,000.

He later explained that he had caught the reptile after it had ventured into the yard of one of his neighbours and said he intended to release it back into the wild. 

“We grow up inna wah place weh dem deh regular,” he said. “Yuh cya ketch dem and do no harm to dem. You affi keep dem safe. If ya tek a picture, yuh tek a picture or two. It’s not for sale,” he said after the reporter identified herself as a journalist. 

The TikToker claims that he knows that the Jamaican boa is protected, and admitted to knowing that selling it would get him “inna trouble”.

According to him, the TikTok livestreams are “just jokes for the fanbase”.

The 25-year-old said his TikTok account is to teach people about nature, and not to take from it. And although people sometimes send money to him via ‘gifts’ on the platform, it is not any substantive amount. 

Meanwhile, director of environmental management and conservation at the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), Anthony McKenzie, said at least two persons hadve been prosecuted recently for engaging in the practice. 

He said the agency is investigating other instances as well, and has been compiling a list of accounts that are suspected to be trading in endangered species. 

“The postings that we are aware of, we investigate and attempt to confiscate and prosecute. We have been in contact with the cybercrimes unit of the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) to see the best approach of how to handle these crimes,” he said. 

McKenzie said the NEPA has also been conducting education campaigns to inform people about the island’s endangered species and the laws that protect them. 

The Jamaican boa is only one species that are often traded on the platform. McKenzie said the yellow-billed parrot, the black-billed parrot, parakeets, and even crocodiles are often auctioned and harassed for entertainment on TikTok. 

“These postings are illegal and illicit, and they represent wildlife crime in the country,” he said. 

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com