Wildlife · Costa Rica (nationwide)

Wildlife Trafficking in Costa Rica Shifts to Social Media

Costa Rica's environmental prosecutors and the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) say a growing share of wildlife trafficking now runs through Facebook listings, private chats and encrypted marketplaces, The Tico Times reported on Aug. 30, 2026. Wildlife trafficking complaints have roughly doubled since 2023, while penalties top out at 3 years in prison, which prosecutors say leaves the trade close to unpunished.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026 · Updated October 31, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Wildlife Trafficking in Costa Rica Moves onto Social Media (2026-08-30)

The image of a wildlife trafficker in Costa Rica used to be a man with a sack on a back road. Investigators now describe something closer to an online store. In late August 2026, prosecutors and police told reporters that more and more of the illegal trade in frogs, snakes, parrots and monkeys runs through social media posts, private chats and encrypted marketplaces, often paid for in ways that are hard to trace.

What prosecutors are seeing online

The Tico Times reported on Aug. 30 that Facebook has become a major sales channel and that the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) runs "cyber patrols" to trace listings back to sellers and the networks behind them. More organized groups reportedly hire programmers, use cryptocurrency and move parts of the business onto the dark web.

Luis Diego Hernández, the coordinating prosecutor of the Environmental Deputy Prosecutor's Office, has long described Costa Rica as a kind of "species bank," because its biodiversity makes local animals valuable abroad. He used that image as far back as a 2020 interview with Teletica. Investigators have identified buyer markets in at least 17 countries, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Spain, Russia, the United States and Canada. Squirrel monkeys, called titís, which live only in Costa Rica and Panama, are in demand in North America, Nicaragua and Honduras.

One case shows how this works on the ground. In December 2024, a tip about a Facebook seller led OIJ agents to a home in San Antonio de Escazú, where they seized 17 reptiles, including a snake from Sri Lanka and a monitor lizard from Asia, El Observador reported. A 32-year-old man was detained. The case shows the trade runs both ways, with exotic animals coming in as well as native ones going out.

How big is the problem?

Here it's important to be honest about the limits of the data. Prosecutors themselves say no one knows how many animals are taken from the wild each year. What can be counted are complaints and seizures, and those are rising.

• Complaints for wildlife trafficking grew from 123 in 2023 to 224 in 2024 and 239 in 2025, a 94% rise in two years, according to prosecutors cited by Semanario Universidad in July 2026.
• Wildlife trafficking was the third most common environmental crime reported to the courts, at just over 10% of roughly 2,345 environmental complaints in the previous year, The Tico Times reported.
• Authorities seized 4,366 animal and plant specimens at airports and border crossings in 2024 and 2025, most of them reptiles such as boas and amphibians, plus feline claws and bones, insects, corals and orchids, according to OIJ forensic data cited by delfino.cr.

Different outlets cite somewhat different yearly complaint totals, depending on whether they count OIJ reports or prosecutor case files, so treat any single number as a floor, not a full picture. Hernández himself told Semanario Universidad that the true size of the business is an unknown, hidden figure.

The cruelty behind the trade

Most trafficked animals never reach a buyer alive. Academic estimates cited by The Tico Times put deaths among trafficked birds as high as 90%. Smugglers have sewn hummingbirds into clothing and hidden more than a hundred frogs, snakes and lizards in a single shipment. One shipment of 17 squirrel monkeys from Panama lost several animals to dehydration and untreated sores before authorities stepped in. Investigators have also found trafficking routes shared with drug smugglers.

Why prosecutors say the law falls short

Under current law, people convicted of extracting, trafficking or illegally exporting wild species face up to 3 years in prison. Officials told The Tico Times that this offers something close to impunity given how profitable the trade is. Because these crimes aren't classified as organized crime, prosecutors also can't use tools like wiretaps, Semanario Universidad reported.

Two legislative efforts are in play, and they're easy to confuse. In July, Semanario Universidad described a separate proposal, driven by the environmental prosecutors, that would group 205 environmental offenses from 14 laws into 6 articles with sentences above 4 years. Another bill, 23.952, moved faster: on Oct. 5, 2026, lawmakers gave it final approval, letting prosecutors treat environmental crimes by organized groups as organized crime and raising the penalty for trafficking wildlife without a SINAC permit to 2 to 4 years, or 3 to 6 years for endangered or CITES-listed species, CRHoy reported. As of late October, it still needed the president's signature and publication to take effect. We cover it in Costa Rica's bill treating illegal mining as organized crime.

What travelers can do: the #WhatYouCarry campaign

At the end of July 2026, Humane World for Animals, Costa Rica's Judicial Branch and airport operator AERIS launched #WhatYouCarry at Juan Santamaría International Airport, with banners and videos aimed at tourists, as Humane World explained. Its advice, according to the organizers, comes down to a few points:

• Don't take plants, shells, coral or animals from nature.
• Don't buy souvenirs made from wildlife, such as turtle shell jewelry, coral or feathers.
• Report wildlife trafficking when you see it, including online listings.

Andrea Borel, executive director of Humane World for Animals Costa Rica, put it plainly: every wildlife souvenir "was once part of a living animal who is no longer with us."

If you want to see wild animals up close the right way, visit a legitimate wildlife rescue center; our guide to wildlife rescue centers in Costa Rica explains how to tell a real sanctuary from a roadside attraction. For more on poaching pressure in the south, read about macaw nesting season and trafficking in Osa.

Frequently asked questions

Is it illegal to buy wild animals online in Costa Rica?

Yes. Keeping, selling or exporting wild animals without a permit is a crime in Costa Rica, whether the sale happens in person or on social media. Penalties for trafficking currently reach up to 3 years in prison plus fines. A bill approved by lawmakers in October 2026 would raise them, but it wasn't yet in force as of late October.

How do I report wildlife trafficking in Costa Rica?

You can report it to the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) or to SINAC, the national parks and wildlife agency. Screenshots of online listings help investigators.

Which animals are most trafficked in Costa Rica?

Recent airport and border seizures were mostly reptiles, such as boas, and amphibians. Glass frogs, parrots, toucans, squirrel monkeys, white-faced monkeys, sloths and insects also turn up in prosecutors' cases.

Can tourists take shells or coral home from Costa Rica?

No. Removing coral, turtle products or wildlife from Costa Rica is prohibited, and airport campaigns now specifically warn tourists not to carry them.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Wildlife Trafficking in Costa Rica Moves onto Social Media (2026-08-30)
2. Semanario Universidad: Tráfico de vida silvestre se duplica bajo la sombra del crimen organizado (2026-07-15)
3. delfino.cr: Autoridades costarricenses decomisaron más de 4.300 especímenes de flora y fauna entre 2024 y 2025 (2026-07-31)
4. Humane World for Animals: Anti-trafficking campaign in Costa Rica urges tourists to leave wildlife out of their luggage (2026-08-28)
5. El Observador: Una serpiente de Sri Lanka y un lagarto asiático: OIJ detalla decomisos por venta de animales exóticos en Facebook (2024-12-22)
6. CRHoy: Congreso deja en firme cárcel de hasta 8 años por minería ilegal en áreas protegidas (2026-10-05)
7. Teletica: Entrevista: Costa Rica es un 'banco' de especies para delincuentes internacionales (2020-06-07)

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.