Is YouTube(R) promoting the exotic pet trade?Analysis of the global public perception of popular YouTube(R) videos featuring threatened exotic animals.

Abstract

The exploitation of threatened exotic species via social media challenges efforts to regulate the exotic pet trade and consequently threatens species conservation. To investigate how such content is perceived by the global community, sentiment analysis techniques were employed to explore variations in attitudes expressed through text and emoji usage in public comments associated with 346 popular YouTube(R) videos starring exotic wild cats or primates in captive or domestic situations. Although a negative trend in mean text sentiment was observed in 2015 for primates, an otherwise consistent positive mean sentiment text and emoji score through time was revealed in response to both exotic wild cat and primate videos, implying the societal normalisation and acceptance of exotic pets. These findings highlight the urgency for effective YouTube(R) policy changes and content management to promote public education and conservation awareness, whilst extinguishing false legitimisation and potential demand for the exotic pet trade.