Reports suggest Facebook has become wildlife trafficking's biggest marketplace
Three major reports released during 2026 paint a concerning picture of how social media platforms, particularly Meta’s Facebook ecosystem, have become central to the global trade in threatened and protected species. Together, the reports argue that online wildlife trafficking is no longer simply a conservation issue. It is also a question of organised crime, digital governance, technology regulation and corporate accountability.
“Online illegal wildlife trade refers to the trafficking of protected wildlife species and their derivatives facilitated through online platforms and other digital means. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including the sale of live animals, exotic pets, animal parts and products derived from endangered species.”
(ECO-SOLVE, 2026, p.3)
What the reports say:
Facebook dominates the online wildlife trade
Perhaps the most striking finding across all three reports is the overwhelming dominance of Facebook as a marketplace for illegal wildlife.
The GI-TOC report analysed almost 22,000 wildlife advertisements posted between April 2024 and March 2026 across 61 online platforms. Facebook accounted for 74.37 per cent of all detected advertisements. While only 60% of detected advertisements included prices, researchers were able to calculate the total value of advertised listings as exceeding US$66 million. Facebook was responsible for 98.5% of that total value.
Similarly, the ECO-SOLVE report identified more than 25,000 illegal wildlife advertisements over a two-year period. Again, Facebook was responsible for more than 71 per cent of all recorded detections, making it by far the largest platform used by wildlife traffickers.
Rather than operating on obscure corners of the internet, wildlife trafficking appears to have become embedded within one of the world’s largest social media platforms.
A digital marketplace for organised wildlife crime
The reports show that wildlife trafficking is increasingly transnational.
Researchers documented networks operating across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, with sellers, intermediaries and buyers frequently located in different countries. Online platforms have dramatically reduced the barriers to international wildlife trafficking by allowing criminals to advertise globally while conducting negotiations privately through encrypted messaging services.
The reports also found that Facebook Groups have become the organisational backbone of many trafficking networks. Groups allow sellers to advertise wildlife, recruit new buyers, build reputations and move conversations into Messenger or WhatsApp once contact has been established.
Algorithms are making the problem worse
One of the most controversial conclusions concerns Meta’s recommendation systems.
Both Wildlife Has a Facebook Problem and Clicks That Kill argue that Facebook’s algorithms do more than simply host illegal content. The reports state that recommendation systems including Suggested Groups, Suggested Friends, feed recommendations and related content actively expose users to wildlife trafficking communities.
According to researchers, these recommendation systems connect buyers and sellers, increase the visibility of illegal advertisements and help trafficking networks expand.
The reports argue that this means Meta’s responsibility goes beyond content moderation, extending to its platforms’ algorithmic accountability and governance. Question marks raised by the reports over whether some popular accounts with wildlife trafficking content may be monetized raise further governance questions.
Arguably, if algorithms have the ability to identify and connect content and accounts, then they should similarly be able to control and remove content and accounts relating to illegal activities.
Highly protected species remain common targets
The wildlife being traded is not limited to common or legally traded animals.
Across the reports, researchers documented advertisements involving elephants, rhinos, pangolins, tigers, bears, parrots, sharks, jaguars and numerous other species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The GI-TOC report found that 84 per cent of detected advertisements involved Appendix I species, while more than half related to endangered or critically endangered wildlife.
Primates at risk
For primate conservation, Clicks That Kill provides particularly troubling evidence.
While all three reports identify primates as common trafficking targets, including spider monkeys, capuchins, tamarins, vervet monkeys, woolly monkeys, slow lorises and gibbons, Clicks That Kill focuses specifically on great apes.
The report alleges that chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans continue to be openly marketed through Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and Instagram. Rather than relying on explicit “for sale” advertisements, traffickers frequently post photographs, videos and reels that function as coded advertisements understood by prospective buyers.
According to the report, negotiations then shift into private communication channels such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and direct messages, where prices, transport arrangements and international logistics are discussed.
The authors argue that Meta’s infrastructure effectively creates a complete trafficking ecosystem in which great apes are publicly displayed, algorithmically promoted, privately negotiated and internationally traded.
Chimpanzees remain central to trafficking networks
The report highlights several recurring patterns involving chimpanzees.
Researchers describe alleged trafficking networks spanning Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, with Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Libya repeatedly appearing within documented case studies.
Chimpanzees are rarely traded in isolation. Chimpanzee trade is linked to the trade in orangutans, gorillas, lions, tigers, cheetahs and parrots, suggesting broader organised wildlife trafficking operations rather than isolated offences.
The report also raises concerns about “zoo laundering”, where traffickers allegedly present themselves as wildlife parks, conservation centres, breeding facilities or private zoos. Great apes may be falsely represented as captive-bred animals, creating an appearance of legitimacy while masking illegal sourcing.
Why current moderation appears insufficient
Despite Meta’s policies prohibiting wildlife trafficking, all three reports conclude that existing moderation systems have had limited success.
Traffickers continually adapt by using code words, multiple languages, altered spellings, emojis and indirect advertising techniques that evade automated detection. Even when accounts are removed, researchers report that many sellers quickly establish replacement accounts or migrate between groups.
The reports argue that voluntary self-regulation has not kept pace with increasingly sophisticated criminal networks.
Collectively, the three reports call for stronger government regulation of digital platforms, improved multilingual moderation, greater transparency around recommendation algorithms and closer cooperation between technology companies, conservation organisations and law enforcement agencies.
Whether policymakers ultimately accept these recommendations remains to be seen. What is increasingly difficult to dispute, however, is that online wildlife trafficking has evolved far beyond isolated illegal advertisements.
The Jane Goodall Institute wishes to acknowledge all the organisations and individuals involved in the research and authorship of these reports.
Top image credit: screenshot from Social Media Animal Cruelty (SMAC) Facebook post
