Stop bring in contraband apes on social media

According to a recent New York Times report, illegal ape traffickers are using social media sites to conduct business. Traffickers are posting pictures of gorillas, chimps and orangutans on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook in order to advertise apes for sale. 

These companies must take responsibility for the part they play in the illicit global ape trade and do their part to help bring down ape smugglers. Please join in demanding that Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook take the necessary steps to shut down ape trafficking accounts.

Ape trafficking is a billion dollar enterprise that has affected tens of thousands of apes who have either been captured and sold, or killed. Baby apes are commonly smuggled because their smaller size makes it easier to do so. Often times, traffickers will kill the baby apes’ entire family in order to seize the baby. 

Apes are incredibly social animals, so being torn apart from their families is especially detrimental. Once sold, these apes are subjected to a life of torture as they are used for human amusement in either zoos or in the homes of private collectors.

Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook can go a long way in helping protect apes, many of whom are endangered, from illegal trafficking. Please sign this petition, and let’s call on these social media sites to identify and shut down ape traffickers for good.