Illegal trafficking of live cheetahs for the pet trade, ZOO, and other wildlife based attractions represents an existential threat to the species the drivers of the pet trade are complex, varied,…

Illegal trafficking of live cheetahs for the pet trade, ZOO, and other wildlife based attractions represents an existential threat to the species the drivers of the pet trade are complex, varied, and inadequately researched cheetah have been traded and kept as pets for centuries but the current iteration of this practice occurs against the backdrop of significant population decline, habitat loss, and the widespread cultural permeation of social media, supercharging demand and availability and making the survival of the species highly uncertain to date, most attempts to address the issue have focused on the supply side and on law enforcement efforts to disrupt trafficking less focus has been on addressing or understanding the drivers of demand, especially using the lens of social behavior change communications sbcc , with its emphasis on specific audience identification and disaggregation and hyper targeted messaging as opposed to broad awareness raising campaigns ifaw will leverage trusted relationships in the kingdom of saudi arabia the most populous country in the arabian peninsula to blend law enforcement capacity building with formative research into the drivers of demand and initial efforts to tackle IT by addressing both the institutional priorities of national law enforcement agencies and developing the formative research and pilot campaign to better understand and address demand, the project will seek to navigate the inherent, complex political challenges and create a model for sustained engagement with states that can be adapted to other contexts and species expected project outcomes include improved interagency, national, and regional collaboration to address cheetah trafficking, improved capacity to combat cheetah trafficking online and at border points, improved understanding of the drivers of cheetah ownership, and improved communications of the risks of cheetah ownership to eventually reduce demand for cheetahs in saudi arabia and the arabian peninsula