From Africa to the Persian Gulf: In the booming illegal wildlife market

REPORTS © FRANCE 24

In the United Arab Emirates, possession and trade in wildlife has been officially banned since 2017. Still, Emirati citizens, especially royalty, post videos on social media every day posing with lions, tigers or cheetahs. In a disaster for biodiversity, these big cats have turned into status symbols, even more effective when it comes to clocking up Instagram likes than luxury cars or selfies with celebrities. Our reporters traced the source of this lucrative illegal trade in industry to Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, where authorities and NGOs are trying to end it.