The monkey squirms while a woman holds it up with one hand and records it without speaking. The TikTok video is brief and has no description; the only audio is the infant animal’s cooing. Other videos posted on related social media channels show young tigers, lions, cheetahs and pumas, but also monkeys, sloths, and meerkats, all recorded and shared without comment.
While still young, these animals make their way to influencers and celebrities who use them as props in their own social media content. Rappers, movie stars, business magnates, TV-presenters, models, vloggers and even a fugitive criminal have all posted images of themselves posing with them. But there’s a problem these same pets can be traced back to a small group of anonymous individuals who may be engaged in illegally leasing out, and perhaps even selling, exotic animals.