Viral threats: the role of TikTok in facilitating trade in CITES-listed species in Lomé, Togo

Wild meat was advertised openly on TikTok in Lomé, Togo, according to an observational analysis of 80 videos posted by two traders between November 2022 and April 2024. The videos displayed smoked carcasses representing an estimated 3,526 animals from at least 27 inferred species, including mammals, birds and reptiles. Four of the inferred species are covered by CITES: the white-bellied pangolin in Appendix I and the African wildcat, savanna monitor and Nile monitor in Appendix II. The study documents how short-form video can expose local wildlife sales to a wider audience, but it does not establish that every advertised animal was sold or that the online trade caused changes in wild populations.

Researchers searched TikTok in April and May 2024 using the French terms “viande de brousse” for wild meat, “viande de brousse Lomé,” “viande de brousse Togo,” “Lomé” and “TikTokTogo.” They manually screened public posts without automated web scrapers and included only videos openly offering whole wild-animal carcasses for sale. Duplicate uploads were counted only at their first appearance. For each video, the team recorded its date, number of views, likes and comments, and estimated the taxonomic class, order and, where possible, species of every animal shown. Identifications were based principally on the common or local names displayed by the seller, along with visible morphology and colour, and were cross-checked against more than a decade of the authors’ field experience in Togo.

All 80 posts came from two open-access channels operated by women selling from a home setting and inviting viewers to place or collect orders. In 67 posts, or 83.75% of the sample, one trader also promoted her restaurant, where she cooked wild meat on Saturdays and Sundays. Individual videos contained between seven and 91 animals, with a median of 42. Birds represented 40.9% of the estimated total, mammals 39.6% and monitor lizards 19.5%. The inferred list comprised 21 mammal species, four bird species and two reptile species. Monitor lizards appeared in 88.8% of the videos, striped ground squirrels and helmeted guineafowl in 81.3% each, double-spurred francolins in 75%, and white-bellied pangolins in 55%.

The inferred conservation status of the animals introduced important context. The white-bellied pangolin was classified as Endangered with a decreasing population trend; Buffon’s kob was Vulnerable and decreasing; and the Defassa waterbuck was Near Threatened and decreasing. Walter’s duiker was Data Deficient. Across the 27 inferred species, 10 had decreasing wild populations, nine had stable trends, one had an increasing trend and seven had unknown trends. Twenty-three species were classified as Least Concern. The study also found that the CITES-listed animals were frequently displayed: pangolins appeared in 44 videos, monitor lizards in 71, and the African wildcat in 21. No permits or other documentation were visible in the reviewed content.

Advertised prices for whole smoked animals ranged from 2,000 CFA francs to 200,000 CFA francs, converted in the study to US$3.40 and US$330.47 using a rate of CFA 1 to US$0.0017 on 23 May 2024. The mean listed price was 19,502.60 CFA francs, equivalent to US$32.30, with a standard deviation of 37,809.60 CFA francs. A Kruskal–Wallis test detected significant differences in price among species and species groups, with a chi-squared value of 91.196, 16 degrees of freedom and a p-value below 0.0001. Smoked bush pigs occupied the upper end of the observed range, while small birds, francolins and striped ground squirrels were among the least expensive. These figures describe posted prices, not verified sales receipts or profitability.

The two channels had 7,728 and 15,950 subscribers when analysed, although individual videos reached larger audiences. View counts ranged from 660 to 216,000, with a mean of 22,438 and a median of 9,787; half of the videos exceeded 10,000 views. Together, the 80 posts had received 1,795,079 views, 52,900 likes, 6,162 shares and 3,490 comments. The median like-to-view ratio was 3%. The most-viewed post displayed smoked pangolin and had more than 216,000 views, almost 9,000 likes and 834 shares. In 25 videos, commenters requested animals not visible in the analysed posts, including snakes, crocodiles, elephants, lions, leopards, pythons, frogs, aardvarks and monkeys. These requests show audience interest but do not show that the requested species were offered by the traders.

Viewer responses included both encouragement and warnings. After excluding price and delivery enquiries, researchers manually classified comments as positive, neutral or negative; 517 comments were available for this analysis, too few for a comprehensive sentiment assessment, and a Kruskal–Wallis test was used to assess differences among the categories. There were 264 positive comments, 149 neutral comments and 104 negative comments. Some users urged traders not to share the videos, stated that hunting was prohibited, or expressed concern about wildlife conservation. One comment warned that pangolin hunting was prohibited and could result in imprisonment, but received dismissive replies. Likes and comments do not demonstrate purchases or changes in social acceptance, although the researchers noted that sharing can extend a listing’s visibility and that engagement may influence attitudes.

The findings carry conservation and public-health implications, but the study did not directly measure population decline, zoonotic infection or completed illegal exports. Wild meat can provide food and income in rural and urban communities, while its sale can also reward hunting from protected areas and other wildlife populations. The species shown included rodents, mongooses, jackals and an African wildcat, groups identified in the study as relevant to possible zoonotic transmission. The researchers did not test any animal or meat for pathogens, however, and one viewer comment raised disease risk without providing evidence of infection. They also described substantial animal-welfare concerns associated with capture, transport, sale and slaughter, noting that pangolins may experience severe suffering during capture and processing.

The analysis is a limited case study rather than a complete inventory of online wildlife sales. It covered only two TikTok channels, and the same animal might have appeared more than once, although differing settings and numbers of animals in each video suggest that overlap was limited. Smoked carcasses and variable video quality also prevented complete taxonomic verification, and no DNA analysis or field confirmation was possible. The study could not confirm that each advertisement resulted in a sale, determine the origin of every carcass, or establish whether products crossed national borders. Nevertheless, it provides an initial documented account of wild-meat advertising on TikTok in Togo and shows that protected species appeared in publicly accessible posts. The authors call for closer monitoring, clearer national rules, research into consumer demand and stronger automated detection of illegal wildlife content by social-media platforms.

Subject of Research: Observational analysis of TikTok advertising of wild meat and CITES-listed species in Lomé, Togo

Article Title: Viral threats: the role of TikTok in facilitating trade in CITES-listed species in Lomé, Togo

Article References: Assou, D., Elwin, A., Megson, D., Ping, X., Zeng, Y., Ketoh, G. K. K., Luiselli, L., Zhu, J., Segniagbeto, G. H., & D'Cruze, N. (2025). Viral threats: the role of TikTok in facilitating trade in CITES-listed species in Lomé, Togo. Nature Conservation, 59, 179-206. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.59.154465

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.59.154465

Keywords: TikTok, wild meat trade, wildlife trafficking, CITES, white-bellied pangolin, Togo, online marketplaces, zoonotic disease risk, biodiversity conservation, social media, Viral, threats