Wild Slow Loris Conservation: Combating the Viral Pet Trade

Slow lorises are among the most trafficked primates due to their appearance in viral social media videos. The pet trade causes severe welfare harm and threatens wild populations.

Key Facts

All five slow loris species (Nycticebus spp.) are protected under CITES Appendix I, making trade illegal
Their canine teeth are clipped or pulled before being sold as pets — a painful procedure done without anesthesia that causes infection and death
The "tickling" behavior in viral videos is actually a stress response in terrified animals adopting a defensive posture
Slow lorises are venomous — they produce a venom from brachial glands that can cause anaphylaxis in humans
Captive survival rates for confiscated lorises are low due to dental removal, dietary challenges, and psychological trauma

Welfare Considerations

Slow loris welfare in the pet trade is catastrophically poor. The dental extraction performed before sale is excruciatingly painful and causes infections that frequently prove fatal. Animals that survive experience profound stress in captivity, being nocturnal, venomous specialists that cannot be legally kept and cannot receive appropriate care in household settings. The viral videos that drove demand portrayed animals in severe distress as cute and interactive. Little Fireface Project's work educating social media platforms and users about the reality of loris suffering has been effective at reducing video sharing. Wild population recovery requires demand elimination more than enforcement alone.

What You Can Do

Never share, like, or positively engage with videos of slow lorises as pets — this amplifies demand
Report slow loris pet trade videos to platform operators as wildlife trafficking
Support Little Fireface Project which works on slow loris conservation and anti-trade education
Raise awareness among friends and family about the welfare reality behind cute slow loris videos