Researchers are concerned video sharing platforms could be contributing to the normalization of exotic pets and encouraging the exotic pet trade.

In a study, published in PLOS ONE, researchers analysed the reactions of people to videos on YouTube involving human interactions with exotic animals and found those reactions to be overwhelmingly positive.

The researchers analysed the reactions — via text and emoji usage — in comments posted on 346 popular videos starring exotic wild cats and primates in ‘free handling situations’.

These situations involved exotic animals interacting with humans or other animals, such as domestic cats and dogs. The videos examined received more than a million views and the comments posted were made between 2006 and October 2019.

First author and final year veterinary medicine student at the University of Adelaide, Georgia Moloney, said, while YouTube is not the only media platform portraying images of ‘unnatural interactions’ with exotic animals, it is the number one video sharing platform globally and presently the third largest social media platform overall.

«The types of interactions we observed in the videos analysed on YouTube included monkeys in nappies like children, primates as pets and pet tigers chained up and interacting with people on suburban front lawns,» she said.

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Materials provided by University of Adelaide. Original written by Kelly Brown. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.