A young primate dressed in clothes, bottle-fed and shown on social media as if it were a pet. The story has sparked widespread discussion on social media in recent hours, after a well-known Italian influencer featured the animal in her posts, saying she had purchased it while on holiday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The Italian Union of Zoos and Aquariums (UIZA) has now raised concerns not only about the need to establish the animal’s origin, but also about the risk that portraying wildlife as pets on social media could encourage others to follow suit.
According to UIZA, the young primate could be a Chlorocebus pygerythrus, a species listed under Appendix II of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Its purchase and movement are therefore subject to international regulations, and the legal origin of the individual must be documented.
“The animal,” warns Cesare Avesani Zaborra, President of the Italian Union of Zoos and Aquariums (UIZA), “could be a young Chlorocebus pygerythrus, a monkey listed in Appendix II of CITES: its purchase and movement are subject to international regulations and the legal origin of the individual must be documented. Added to this is the serious risk of imitation linked to its exposure on social media, which can encourage practices that remove wild animals from their ecosystems and place them in domestic environments.”
The illegal trade in a young wild animal can be the final stage of a chain that begins with poaching and removal from the wild. In the case currently circulating on social media, UIZA stresses that it is up to the competent authorities to establish the animal’s origin and determine whether it was legally acquired.
“An animal taken from its environment and separated from its mother,” Avesani Zaborra continues, “can be sold for profit and then kept in conditions that are completely unsuitable for the biological, behavioural and social needs of the species. In the case currently circulating on social media, it is up to the competent authorities to establish the origin of the individual and whether it was legally acquired. But illegal wildlife trafficking remains a global phenomenon.”
Figures illustrate the scale of the problem. According to UNODC’s World Wildlife Crime Report 2024, illegal wildlife trafficking involved around 4,000 animal and plant species between 2015 and 2021, with seizures recorded across 162 countries and territories. UIZA also warns that the phenomenon has not disappeared over recent decades but has shifted towards different target species.
Of particular concern is the amplifying effect of social media, where images can turn wild animals into desirable pets. “The circulation on social media of images of wild animals inside homes, filmed and posted online as if they were cute pets, is a worrying development. The emotions generated by certain images can encourage imitation, promoting illegal practices while completely disregarding the fundamentals of animal welfare. A young monkey, a bird of prey chick or a newborn mammal requires specialist care and qualified personnel.”
Since 1992, with the implementation of CITES, Italian zoos have made their expertise and facilities available to authorities dealing with seized and confiscated animals. In 2025 alone, according to UIZA, around 100 animals seized by the competent authorities were entrusted to the 19 zoological institutions belonging to its network.
When animals cannot be immediately returned to the wild, they may be included in breeding programmes while also contributing to public awareness initiatives. According to UIZA, this work can also help people understand the consequences that may lie behind the seemingly harmless purchase of a wild animal while travelling abroad.
