Netizen Exposes Instagram 'Pet Shop' That Illegally Sells Endangered Malaysian Wildlife
The shop sold endangered gibbons for as much as RM1,800.
By Alyssa J. Oon — 03 Jun 2019, 04:39 PM
A Malaysian netizen recently took to Facebook to expose an Instagram "pet shop" selling protected wildlife
Wong Siew Te, whose profile states that he is the founder and CEO of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), wrote the post on Friday, 31 May.
"Illegal wildlife trade in Malaysia is going out of control! A new Instagram user start[ed] selling Totally Protected Species online," he wrote.
The post was attached with screenshots of an Instagram profile that claimed to sell "all kinds of rate animals"
The profile in question was no longer accessible at the time of writing.
Screenshots of the profile taken by Wong showed videos of the account owner allegedly feeding protected wildlife, including baby gibbons, a slow loris, and a baby dusky langur.
According to the Malaysia Biodiversity Information System, all species of gibbons are listed as "Endangered".
"Baby gibbons RM1800, baby dusky langur RM650, baby palm civet RM350, baby Malay[an] civet RM550, baby leopard cat RM650," Wong wrote.
"If this is not breaking the wildlife protection laws, then what is?"