How Instagram is helping drive wild otters to extinction

Conservationists say the recent surge in social media hype around the creatures has sparked such a frenzied demand that it imperils entire species

Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, currently meeting in Geneva, are pushing for a full international trade ban

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The illegal trade in otters has increased ‘exponentially’ in recent years, experts warn. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:25am, 23 Aug 2019Updated: 10:42pm, 23 Aug 2019

Social media users are fuelling a burgeoning appetite for acquiring wild otters and other endangered animals as pets, conservationists say, warning the trend could push species towards extinction.

Popular Instagram users posting selfies with their pet otter may simply be seeking to warm the hearts of their sometimes hundreds of thousands of followers, but animal protection groups say the trend is posing an existential threat to the silky mammal.

“The illegal trade in otters has suddenly increased exponentially,” said Nicole Duplaix, who co-chairs the Otter Specialist Group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

All Asian otter species have long been listed as vulnerable or endangered after facing decades of shrinking habitats and illegal trade in their pelts.

But conservationists say the recent surge in social media hype around the creatures has sparked such a frenzied demand for baby otters in Asian countries, Japan in particular, that it could drive entire species towards extinction.