Social media and the wild

Social media trends such as 'animal selfies' can cause members of the public to behave poorly around wild animals. Getting too close to wild animals risks injury to the human from animals who many feel threatened, or, in the case of young animals, may result in their being abandoned by their parents. 

Social media can spread misinformation about appropriate behaviour around wild animals, particularly with their care. People are encouraged by those online to 'rescue' fledgling birds found on the ground, effectively unnecessarily removing them from their parents (RSPB, 2010).

Many animals sold on social media for the illegal wildlife trade are directly taken from the wild, as the suppliers may not have the knowledge or experience to breed animals in captivity (Spee, et al., 2019).

Poaching is the leading cause of decline in the population of some species, due to unsustainable over harvesting, such as the Asian short clawed otter and the African grey parrot. This shows the impact that social media can have on biodiversity in the wild (Anagnoustou and Doberstein, 2024).

The rarer the animal, the more money it can be sold for, meaning the most endangered of species can become the most sought after (Lameter, 2020).

The popularity of exotic pets can lead to the accidental or intentional release of species who ultimately become invasive, ultimately threatening biodiversity (Lockwood et al., 2019) as well as lead to possible disease transmission (Peng and Broom, 2021).

The ring-necked parakeet is a popular pet bird, however its release in several countries has led them to be considered as a major cause of biodiversity loss (Peng and Broof, 2021). These gregarious birds are competitive of native bird nesting space and cause significant crop damage (London Wildlife Trust, 2023).