‘It shouldn’t be that easy’: inside the illegal wildlife trade booming on social media

A pair of trafficked young toucans being cared for at CeMaCAS, a wildlife conservation centre outside of São Paulo, Brazil, after being rescued by police. Photograph: Courtesy of CeMaCAS

When the baby parrots were delivered to Alice Soares de Oliveira’s desk they had no feathers and could barely open their eyes. Housed in a dirty cardboard box, the pair were barely a month old, and showed signs of underfeeding.

The parrots – along with a pair of young toucans that arrived just under a month later – were victims of wildlife traffickers. Snatched by poachers, perhaps from their mother’s nest, they were all advertised for sale on social media.