World · East Asia & Pacific · 3 hrs ago
Chinese social media promotes illegal wildlife trade in Laos
A search found hundreds of videos promoting endangered wildlife sales in Laos on Chinese social media platforms.
The videos show protected animals for sale and promote tours to wildlife markets, sometimes suggesting the trade is legal.
The platforms include WeChat Channels, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, which are used by Chinese social media users.
The China-Laos Railway opened in 2021, and China lifted pandemic travel restrictions in early 2023, helping drive a rise in Chinese visitors to Laos.
Nearly 1.16 million Chinese tourists visited Laos in 2025, according to the Lao News Agency.
Laos prohibits the sale of products from animals including pangolins, and the Chinese Embassy has warned citizens that offenders can be punished under Lao law.
Experts say social media companies must do more to stop wildlife-trade promotions; two major Chinese media companies ban such content in their user agreements, while a third has no specific terms.
The sources do not say what steps the platforms will take next.
Mongabay found hundreds of videos on Chinese social media promoting the sale of endangered wildlife in Laos.
The videos appear on WeChat Channels, Douyin and Xiaohongshu and include footage of protected animals being offered for sale.
Chinese tourists’ visits to Laos have grown following the opening of the China-Laos Railway and the lifting of pandemic travel restrictions.
The Lao News Agency reported that nearly 1.16 million Chinese tourists arrived in Laos in 2025.
Experts say Chinese and Western media companies should do more to keep platforms free of content promoting illegal wildlife trade.
- Who
- Chinese social media users and influencers are promoting wildlife sales and tours in Laos. Chinese media companies and experts are also central to the story.
- What
- Mongabay found hundreds of videos promoting the sale of endangered wildlife in Laos.
- When
- The story was published on October 14, 2026. One influencer had posted 96 wildlife-trade videos since August 2025.
- Where
- The videos promote wildlife markets and tours in Laos on WeChat Channels, Douyin and Xiaohongshu.
- Why
- The growth in Chinese tourism to Laos has contributed to wildlife trafficking issues, while social media is being used to promote wildlife sales and tours.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The China-Laos Railway opened.
China lifted its pandemic travel restrictions.
A Chinese influencer began posting videos related to the wildlife trade, according to Mongabay.
The influencer posted a Douyin video showing a pangolin being weighed and priced at a market stall.
Mongabay published its investigation.
- Videos found
- Hundreds promoting endangered wildlife sales in Laos
- Platforms
- WeChat Channels, Douyin and Xiaohongshu
- Chinese tourists in Laos
- Nearly 1.16 million in 2025
- Influencer videos
- 96 wildlife-trade videos since August 2025
- Pangolin price in a video
- 1,200 Chinese yuan for 3.3 kilograms
What people are saying
The wet markets in Laos are like wildlife parks; however, while you can only look at the animals in our zoos back in China, the wild animals in Lao markets can be eaten.
Lao law prohibits the sale of ivory, rhinoceros horns, pangolins, and other wildlife products. Violators will be punished by law.
Animals like these are protected at the first, second, or third levels in our country, but here in Laos, they are truly just one, two, or three dishes on the table.