Earlier this year, Storyfrontier were humbled to film for Channel News Asia on an incredibly important subject matter. The 46-minute episode was entitled ‘Wildlife Clickbait’ and was part of a documentary series The Dark Web, dealing with the disturbing effects of social media. Specifically this episode dealt with the dark side of the internet in the illegal trade of exotic animals. Filming consisted of interviews with wildlife experts, politicians, ex-illegal exotic pet traders as well as filming of re-enactments and visiting various locations such as a wildlife rescue centre.
The story was intended to educate and create awareness on a subject that rarely gets headlines. These social media posts may look like ordinary posts of exotic pets for sale but this is feeding into a rising illegal wildlife trade here in Malaysia. There is an entire ring out there using social media to promote this illegal trade and bringing in billions globally at the expense of rare and endangered wildlife. The problem is that most people who trade buy or sell, don’t realise the huge negative effect of what they’re doing. So please do consider sharing this video to spread public awareness on this topic.
Production by Storyfrontier. Pre-production by Ushar Daniele, Post-Production by Sora Media. Executive Producer – Sora Media.
Watch the full documentary for free here:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/video-on-demand/the-dark-web/wildlife-clickbait-11701900