The Illegal Cheetah Trade

Baby cheetahs. Photo credit: bbc.com 

One news story that caught my attention this week was about the illegal cheetah trade. Arab nations have recently joined forces with African countries to prevent the illegal live trade of cheetahs. Cheetahs are being trafficked from Africa to parts of the Middle East. Part of the plan to stop this illegal trade is to put a stop to the use of social media to flaunt, pose, and advertise these cheetahs. Social media is being used to display these purchases and to connect buyers and sellers, which has resulted in an increase in the trade of cheetahs. The plan includes working with social media platforms and implementing new reporting requirements so they can better monitor the problem. The United Arab Emirates is cracking down on social media platforms and have already begun to target some of the biggest websites in the illegal trade of cheetahs and have removed online advertisements. They are also in the process of passing domestic legislation that would outlaw keeping cheetahs as pets, which they hope will cause a reduction in the demand for cheetahs.

Photo credit: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/

There are currently less than 7,000 cheetahs remaining and they're spread across 29 different countries. They are labeled as vulnerable animals and the population continues to decrease. Cheetah cubs can be sold for up to $10,000 in illegal live trade. Once they're bought, these cheetahs are captured in their wild habitat, packed into crates and shipped to the Middle East. Almost 85% of these cheetahs die on their journey. Fashion and technology have both contributed to a recent rise in the illegal trade of cheetahs. In some cultures, wealthy people consider having a cheetah as a pet a status symbol. These animals need to be protected and hopefully monitoring social media will be a major step toward saving them.  

To learn more about this issue and become more aware, visit this website: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/29/cracking-down-on-the-pet-cheetah-trade/