Exposing Dubai’s Exotic Animal Trade via Instagram | Super Users
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- Опубликовано: 20 сен 2024
- Foeke Postma, an investigative journalist at Bellingcat, used fake Instagram accounts to follow people, reverse search images, geolocate pictures, and watch videos frame by frame to identify customers and exotic animal suppliers in Dubai.
The exotic pet trade is a multi-million dollar industry, seen as a symbol of power and wealth. It’s no wonder influencers and celebrities use them as props in their own social media content.
Postma set out to identify various animals through their spots, stripes and whiskers, tracing them back to anonymous individuals who were potentially engaged in the illegal leasing of wildlife. This is how he exposed Dubai’s exotic animal trade via Instagram.
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Why’d you turn off the comments on the garden while not acknowledging what’s going on?
It's heartbreaking how people like David Attenborough dedicate their lives to educate people about wildlife conservation and these influencers buy animals to show off their status
what do you expect, it's the only way these species will survive, they are extinct in the wild so it's the only way, if you shut them down, even they are bad people you are making the species extinct so you are the real bad person, yea it's different perspective but it's true.
What's the difference between buying a dog and buying a cheetah. Neither are endangered. The cheetah could potentially have a better life in captivity. The difference is we domesticated dogs 14K years ago. Who's to say we can't domesticate a lion? We look at a dog and think nothing of keeping them in our house. Some dogs are larger than cheetahs.....so why do some folks have an issue with one and not the other.....it's because society has said keeping one is good and keeping the other is bad. Would people have an issue with taking an endangered species into captivity to use conservation efforts to bring them back from the brink? Probably not.
@@TheWaleedKhalid ..."And the same way we can't domesticate Cheetahs, Tigers and Lions"......But we can and have been domesticating them. Did you mean we shouldn't? That would be society telling us we should not.....but why is it bad? Is is just morally bad or is it any more harmful to the species than what we do to dogs.
@@TheWaleedKhalid come back in 10 years
@@TheWaleedKhalid The reason most dogs don't go around in packs eating us is because we domesticated them. Owners of exotic species aren't getting eaten left and right because they too were domesticated. There doesn't seem to be a great reason not to have these exotics other than most people think it's wrong for whatever reason.
I see Dubai is still a magnet for the world's worst people
The place is safe haven for all criminals on the run.
i guess that's why my ex wanted to go there
Europe though
So, basically losers.
@@TheMessiahOfThe99Percent Asia
It’s important to also expose the people that are paying for this, they are the ones that are creating demand. The guy in the thumbnail is Barcelona player Memphis Depay that is involved with this business
In his defens the lion was not his.. it was from his friend.
@@millsjaw6805 Fair enough, but hes still advertising this business by promoting it like this in his social media accounts
Dont matter if not his, just being there is promotion enough for this crap, ignorance is not am excuse in 2021
Exactly! Not like can would make them legally liable to just not blur the photos
You'll have a lot of Barca fans defending him.
His Investigative skills were inspiring.
Common sense really
Yeah his methods are just basic investigation techniques. Nothing special.
I think they were quite bad. because he should have reported him ot the authorities, instead of letting him get away and allowing him to proceed with his business in a smarter manner. He made matters worse.
no they aren’t LOL
It’s disgusting how much money people make from endangered exotic animals!!!!!!!
Would buy a few to
@@ProfTism Just why? Please, explain to me, I'm honestly interested. Why would one want to have tiger, lion or shark?
Vice has a very interesting video about donkeys in Colombia.
I’m tryna make it out the hood by smoking weed on my RUclips channel & making reaction videos ‼️🥶
Not as much as factory farms ;)
I bet this dude is amazing at GeoGuessr
Mateeee what a game, so many hours of my education wasted on this...😂 no regrets
Hi fellow geoguesser
It's such a great site
What's that?
This was literally my first thought haha. Wonder if he has a Twitch lmao
This dude is like the sidekicks or bestfriend of every heros and agents
The loser friend
@@hiddenwobbler9890 well at least your name fits your personality
Ya cus he tries to save animals?
So the one doing all the important work 😉
He's literally the hero
thanks for exposing these people. this world needs people brave enough to go against an industry like this.
They seem cute and cuddly when they're Cubs, but what do you do when it's a 600 pound killing machine? It normally doesn't end well for the animals.
It always ends badly
even as cubs theyre dangerous. i feel disgusted when they put these exotic pets with house pets. like a tiger cub with house cats.
This guy should probably watch his back. These people likely have no qualms with doing anything it takes to stop people from seeing what they do.
Real talk.
"These guys" aren't even able to traffic their pets out in the open for fear of building security at the front desk. Dubai is extremely strict and I hope they internally addressed this. If not, any number of us would be happy to go to jbr and report this couple
Getting a wild animal is so tacky and flashy. Regardless if it's someone from Dubai, Russia or any other place. Why not wear golden teeth while you're at it. 🤮 The truly richest people in the world don't do it - so I always wondered what makes rich, but still far less rich people try and boast their wealth in such a way. There is always going to be someone richer or poorer than you.
People with old money, real money that had it all their life don't care what anyone thinks. They're just trying to live their life.
New money rich ppl are trying to get a round of applause from an audience that doesn't even care about them as people if they lost their money tmmrw, old $ ppl know that and know they live one life and why impress randoms who don't gaf about you, they rather spend their $ on experiences and a cozy life than show off.
These animals are trafficked from east africa (kenya and tanzania) through Somalia
@@newthrash1221 I was simply stating where they're from
hop off my d
@@gidd no like why did they come at you hot 😭😭😭 you were literally stating a fact so damn sensitive
@Are You Going To Do The 'Ora Ora' Thing? what did they say
finally, can we cancel mo now? I mean at a point even his own dad not able to cancel him!
Yes
MO has always been a fraud.
No
Do you think he's abusing them?
Bless your heart and all your hard work sir. Protect this man at all costs.
Shirl, Fooke is precious. those dutch names crack me up.
It's amazing how much information we give away freely.
This didn't really expose the industry.
Yeah it's just specifically not explained in a large scale.
Exactly. He didn’t mention the other countries where this trade occurs such as Qatar or China.
@@jacobperez8921 they said “exposing Dubai’s exotic…” so why would you expect this video to talk about other countries??? Or can’t you read?
They did expose them but the industry bolted and probably created a new account elsewhere. Not much you can do, even then there needs to be the law behind it for actual action.
Dubai is a joke
Yeah definitely it’s a boring dystopia
Dubai is an example of excess and indignant rightousness. When financials crash in the future and their people need to work, they won't be able to for lack of experience and desire to. Might take 1000 years but sand will win in the end and Dubai will be just a shadow of itself.
so am i just jaded or did this accomplish next to nothing.. he spent all this time finding out their identity and location of operation for him to then warn them.
they simply delete all their socials, make new ones and move... What has changed? other than making him more careful in the future, I literally cant see a single impact this whole process had.
I mean good on him to try and his actions seem to have a good intention but really shortsighted...
yes lol I'm unsubscribing
that actually what I'm thinking about any vice "documentary". most of the time its just ten minutes talking what everybody already knows
Atleast he got the face of the guy selling these cubs and showed the entire world who he was. I doubt he can do anything legally and that's up to authorities to identify and prosecute the person.
@@lameduck3105 bruh it's in Dubai!!!? The dude probably has been running this type of business for decades..
what do you expect, it's the only way these species will survive, they are extinct in the wild so it's the only way, if you shut them down, even they are bad people you are making the species extinct so you are the real bad person, yea it's different perspective but it's true.
Well done!!!! Keep exposing these criminals and the people who take pictures with these animals
what do you expect, it's the only way these species will survive, they are extinct in the wild so it's the only way, if you shut them down, even they are bad people you are making the species extinct so you are the real bad person, yea it's different perspective but it's true.
@@jinz0 I hope your just trolling me, if not please go do your homework on the topic
@@VinceW187 done my homework and im still correct, you aren't
@@jinz0 you are totally wrong and misinformed, it is inexcusable to have a wild animal as a pet
.
@@selvariumecotienda1769 no, you are naive and deluded
I’ve always thought keeping wild animals like this in captivity was sad.
Why reach out to them to warn them of what you’re doing? Is it because there’s nobody to prosecute them? It makes no sense. Still a brave guy though.
*Edit: He replied to my comment*
It's because this guy is just looking for Twitter brownie points. In fact it makes law enforcements job way harder. This is Dubai, not some third world country. Not only can law enforcement be made aware, this criminal selling these animals is a foreigner.
It's annoying. These blue checkmarks think of these accounts like bots in a game. It's almost like they're too dumb to understand that somebody can just make another account. It's really easy.
This is me. It's not in the video but I did pass on info to authorities before publication. Unfortunately Dubai police don't have a good reputation when it comes to enforcing these laws, so exposure is the next step! You have to reach out to those you accuse for journalistic standards.
Wow his investigative work is phenomenal 👌
Thank you for bringing attention to this. Too many people just close their eyes when it comes to this
Really makes you wonder how they are even getting a hold of these cubs to begin with :(
To me, just everything about Dubai and Abu Dhabi is like if someone gave trillion of Dollars to person with the worst taste in the world and said to that person: ''This is yours money, do with it whatever you want.''
That is exactly what it is like. I went there once when I was a teenager with my family and I'm never going back. Happy that people are exposing this digusting country for what it really is
Dubai made a sh!t ton of money from oil and didn't know what to do with it ,so they spent it on nothing of substance
Not really. I live here and u rarely see anyone does it. I’ve never seen anyone own a tiger but they probably exist. There r so many dumb people who do dumb things with their money ALL around the world. Rich people in the Middle East r one of them but they aren’t the only ones.
I do reaction videos & storytimes while smoking weed on my RUclips channel 😂💯
You talk like the US developed without anything , every country has its own natural resources , uae just maximised it like clockwork in everything , look at other countries rich in resources havent developed in centuries while uae did that in few decades
Been to Dubai and its crazy how they have wild animals as pets and consider it a norm. Thanks for the insightful video as usual, Vice!
no it’s not normal at all. I’ve never seen one except in a zoo and it’s illegal here but people still manage to do it. It’s very uncommon tho.
It’s not the norm though. Even having house pets is uncommon here, so I think calling wild animals the “”norm”” is a huge exaggeration lol.
"norm" nice I haven't seen a single one in my 18 years of living in dubai
Wait until the oil money runs out will humble them real quick
@@eagleeye5943 no right now they are using the oil money to make placed to attract tourists. They are trying to depend on tourism more than oil.
I've been seeing vids like these on my insta recently of ppl playing with baby lions and tigers and the comments are always talking about how cute they are and how much they want one and it frustrates me to no end, bc a chimp brushing it's teeth at a bathroom sink isn't normal, (I could give it a pass if they were rescued from the illegal pet trade and they've been around ppl for so long that they can't be a wild animal, but don't keep the bloody thing in your house!)
But one other thing I don't get is that yeah they look cute now, but what's gonna happen when they get twice the size of you? Get another one and get rid of the older one?
It's absolute insanity how ppl could think that this is an acceptable thing to do
"Awwe so adorable" "they are just oversized kittens" no just no
Great work. Thanks for doing the investigation;-)
id hate to think what happens to the cubs when they grow out of their cuteness.
Beautifully done! Thanks so much for your insights. Wish these animals were living in Africa where they belong.😊👍🏼 Lots of Love Bobbi 😇🙏🏼
So nones talking about this dudes exceptional stalking???
Foeke Postma is the best name ever, Sounds like my Italian Nonna yelling ''Foekkking Postman''
These Royal Bengal Tigers and white Bengal Tigers are not only exotic animals but also super rare endangered species, their royalty lies beyond the riches of these stupid wealthy people, influencers and RUclips bloggers ,so sad to see these top predators treated like domestic cats or photography props 🥺😢😓
And they were captive bred lmao
Sad seeing how the wild animals life isn't 'wild', they suppossed to be in the wild😭😭😭
stfu :joy:
@@perlauch7701 :money_mouth:
Dubai, less culture than a KFC in Philly
I would buy exotic animals if I had the chance, it's dope.
When will people learn, “don’t f**k” with cats”?
A huge percentage of the population and especially the people in charge need to have a heart change about wildlife and the environment before it’s too late.
In the UAE , if it makes money the government looks the other way while publicly denouncing it and citing how illegal it is
Next time smash the dislike button and unsubscribe whenever you see an influencer showing off these endangered species.
*Do you're part*
So you didn’t even get the guy arrested or save the cub?
These types of monsters are on Tiktok too; just another reason that app is awful. They recommended this horrible content w/ a huge lion on a couch w/ an Arabic man to me just yesterday!
An Arab* man
Then why continue to use Tiktok?
@@krisushi1 I literally used it 3 times including then to look at something sent to me. After last time filled with antivaxxers, anti-maskers, & animal abuse on their for you bs, when they don't have enough data to know what to recommend is all I needed to know. It's actually awful for real reasons & not because teens act like teens on there.
@@ArtisticlyAlexis The moment I discovered that it was a Chinese app, I wanted nothing to do with it. I'm surprised that a communist country would even allow this type of content, although they didn't at first. I've never seen it but all that I've heard is it's only repetitive content from other social media platforms. Believe me, RUclips is more than enough for me to put up with. I can't watch this type of content anyway as it makes me too damn mad. Your channel's picture is absolutely beautiful by the way.
You legend Foeke!!!!! Shouts from New Zealand! Good on you man!!!!
Well at least they're not trafficking in exotic human children like they used to.
“Like they used too” Tf you on boi? They ain’t white people
Of course they are!!! They can do both at the same time and much more!
Anytime Dubai gets mentioned on RUclips, I just want to avoid that place at all costs.
With all of its cool & fancy infrastructure, it seems like has zero soul.
lol, shut tf up.
fancy infrastructure doesn't mean you have no soul just good taste
your just an undercover
@@oliviazara1315 That place will be a dump when electric cars take over
Sucks for you
Don't come westerner
@@orthodoxboxing9159 I don't think so electric cars means no more fossil fuels.
No more fuel = No more pollution
so by this logic If having Tigers as pets should be stopped, then same should be done with the Russians and they're bears
He did a amazing job, I just don't get why he told the criminals about his investigation
Make legal… people won’t want them
See vice? People want to see raw footage this is exactly what I expected.
It's always rich people with sh*tty taste, lifeatyle, lifegoals (i.e rappers)
How can they be rappers if they can't rap though? Their music genre is also called 'trap'.
You shouldn't blur the celebrities and influencers faces who take part in this. They should be on blast and their accounts should be banned.
Omg Thailand is bad too! I wrote to the embassy saying they need to shut down the Tiger Kingdom there. A guy who worked there literally begged us to help the tigers and felt america had the power to stop it. I really wish we did
“Felt America had the power to stop it” That dude is a clown and so are you if you agree with him😂 America the literal cancer of this world who is involved in every problem this world faces in one way or another, you want their help? Get out of your slave mentality and start changing things by yourself
@@nak1509 a lot of people in other countries believe America has a lot of power. I travel a lot so this mentality of ppl who aren’t from
America isn’t news. “Slave mentality”? Smh, that is hate speech, you don’t know me or my mentality. I clearly said “I wish we did,” did the best I could to help. What are you doing?? ...Smh you trolls need to find a better hobby, one that actually pays you.
@@HairByPierre i went to the tiger park it was fun no need to shut it down
@@jadun814 they mistreat the tigers. They need to shut it down.
How is this guy not working with the FBI?? His investigation skills are level 69420!!
Level 69 for sure
Dealing with this solo with no authority to do anything about it just threw away all the investigative work - the guy disappeared from social media and probably killed and hid the cub's bodies in fear of being caught and charged.
Exactly what I was thinking. He got his 5 mins of fame on RUclips without thinking of consequences. His intent may have been at the right place but he should have contacted the authorities or collaborated with someone in Dubai to ensure at least the safety of the cub. The culprit will just open another account and carry on what he's been doing
Those were my thoughts as well when he said he contacted the guy. Like, why? What did he think would come from that? At best the animals are still being used to this day under a new name or other insta acct he probably had prepared in case he was discovered. Or they were sold to the highest bidder w/ no care for the animal's well being. At worst the animals were disposed of .
Loved this video, thank you so much for exposing this!!
You keep going my dude, great work
All animals should not be treated as pets.
so bad this video showed nothing but his stalking skills , nothing about the laws and who can or cannot own them in the country , and with hindsight spreading information that he abuses them , for all we could know is the animals can be in better living conditions than most of the areas and enclousures
Seriously!! Lmaooo this guy prob feels like badass, but anyone with a lot of free time and attention to detail could of done this
UAE govt recently gave award for saving a cat which is falling from a building and the same government supporting this illegal wild life trade.🤷♂️
there not supporting it, Dubai actually prohibits and its actually against the law but they dont care and accept the fine, plus they do a better job/good job of taking care of these animals
Love this content!! Be safe everyone 🌞🙏🏾👑
Noticed all of the celebs were photographed with a cub and its just so sad for the tiger and the fact that they are showing off by having an infant. It fills an insecurity of looking big and dominant over an infinate. eh its gross. I see a lot of shorts on having bigs cats and I think thats an issue.
So sad these animals 😭 don't deserve this they deserve to live in the wild and love life
Shut up
@@gabrieli3104 who tf hurt you?
Man I would much rather live with a rich dude that would feed me whenever I wanted to and do whatever I want, then have to survive in the wilderness, where a wrong move can end up killing me.
Theyre captive breeds, theyll die in jungle
@@hentaimaster6221 that is cause you are not a wild animal, wild animals don't need luxuries or rich dudes, they need their habitats or at least sanctuaries to be preserved. you just think as a dumb person, wild animals are not dumb at all.
I don’t know why ppl are surprised - humans are being sold left and right and y’all surprised someone owns lion cubs ?
You're a blessing 💜🌟🌏
Obviously law in Dubai could not care less. If it did this would not happen.
Lol what kind of logic is this? This happens everywhere and in a bigger scale, Dubai is just a small part of it.
@@eavocado5890pppj Go to the Unied States of America and see how many famous RUclipsrs own a tiger as a pet. Certainly it happens in other countries but not everywhere.
*01:40** - **01:41*
*Is this not actually NEV from the television show Catfish on MTV 🤔 🧐 🤨?*
If someone make investigations sure will find not only animals for sale but one of the biggest market where women brought from al around the world by human trafficking and available in Dubai for sale . And don’t forget heaven of money launderers is Dubai.
Thank You 😊
Amazing investigation
What a superhero investigative techniques was that...👏👏👏👏
Your going after the exotic pets why dont u come to south east asia where they eat dogs cats mice ect or ur just a show?
fr
Humans are sickkkkkkening. I wish these people monsters, their body parts are chopped or designed like that for others like or wish?!!! Absolutely sickening 😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒can't believe and imagine what these poor creatures go through in the hands of so called humans.
Bro that white tiger cub has the most deformed looking face. Poor little cylinder head.
When ADD is used for good.
I fucken hate when animals are used as bragging rights. Cars, purses, and homes arent enough for you?
Honestly I think buying them is making sure the species doesn't extinct, good example is texas where, there are more tigers than in wild. 🤔
Ahahahah
You're shitting me, right? How about making sure they don't go extinct in the first place? And aggressively punishing ivory trade, so elephants and rhinos don't get slaughtered....
Netflix should do a season 2 of don't f with cats with this guy in it
Don't forget the slave labor and massive sex trafficking going on there as well.
Its disgusting to hear what people paint and what they actually do.
This practice is going on for a long time this needs to be stopped🙏
He's good and something needs to be done abt this
This dude describing how any random kid on 4chan can go about doxxing someone as a professional process is pretty amusing ngl
I totally respect the intention and the work being done, but what realistically happened is they just made a new account and messaged trustworthy followers/past buyers/potential buyers to follow that
Cool story
1:49 is that Memphis depay ?
These motherlovers would pee in their tunics if they encounter a real wild tiger
that apartment is in Jumeirah Beach Residence
This guy is the real life Inspector Gadget🤣
Thank you so much for doing this job!
Seriously, I find the USA is the most in having exotic animals. Duba are following the USA model
I mean to be fair these animals are most likely going to live better lives than 80% of the world's population. What bothers me the most is you have money for stupid luxury items and not be able to provide a bit of charity for kids dieing from starvation.
when oil flows from your tap rather than water... then you can possess anything u want except for HUMANITY
Realistically, what legal actions can this exoric animal guy even face internationally if he didnt take any measures to hide?
Exotic animal rentals 👎🏼 they rent their pets like the cars they drive
So what happened in the end? Who got arrested? What’s the law in the UAE against these crimes or if at all it is recognised as a crime there? Was this person reported to the authorities??
It’s illegal to own and trade exotic animals and it is enforced but the elite get away with it
@@td2926 it’s not like Dubai is different, this happens in a lot of countries but when you’re part of the elite class you can get away with almost anything just depends on how wealthy you are same thing happens in America, UK etc .
@@eavocado5890pppj Precisely
Information was passed along, there are laws against it, but Dubai authorities enforcing these laws doesn't seem to happen much.
@@foekepostma4528 They happen to the local population, those with no connections to high ranking officials or wealth. They turn a blind eye to members of the ruling family and friends to the royals.
This channels is working more then cops and NGO .
Please check the exotic pets of America.. There's almost 10k tigers in American homes.. In the wild its less than 4k tigers.
A very big investigation you have done to expose those spoilt rich.
It's baffling to me that it's 2021 and you can still make $$$ trading exotic animals (that are endangered in the wild!) and ivory, which is particularly popular in China. And all these people are just disgusting.
Fooke Postma is real detective.
How can you be saving the species if you are keeping those species from living in the wild? By keeping these animals you are doing the exact opposite of trying to save them. And it's hard to make wild animal's breed in captivity due to the stress from the different and wrong environment they are in. They may look ok in these apartments/houses but the truth is they need to be kept in the wild where they belong and the ones that are already in captivity need to go to sanctuaries and zoos. When they grow up these animal's are likely to turn on their owners and tbh I really hope that happens to all of them because they deserve it for thinking you could tame a beast from the wild that isn't properly domesticated and still has its instincts from the wild. I hope all of the exotic big cat pet owners illegally keeping these animals in their apartments/condos/houses get the bad karma that they deserve.
666 666 666 666 666 666 666 666
Whilst I agree with you completely, if the animals attacked the stupid humans who owned them, the animals would be "at fault" and get put down for attacking and/or killing a human, even though it'd not their fault. It's a lose lose lose situation for these poor animals.