In 2019, customs officers at a post office in the Philippine capital Manila unwrapped what looked like an ordinary parcel from Poland. Inside, they found 757 live tarantulas stuffed inside plastic containers, neatly packed like a twisted birthday surprise.

Far from an isolated incident, this seizure reflects a long-running issue. Between 2010 and 2019, arachnids were the most frequently confiscated invertebrates in the Philippines, with nearly 3,000 tarantulas and 1,000 scorpions from more than 40 species seized. Many were rare, newly discovered, or hard-to-breed nonnative species, and were likely caught from the wild and smuggled by post.

A study by wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC, published in the Journal of Nature Studies, highlights this troubling trend. Researchers manually reviewed posts from five of the Philippines’ most active Facebook groups for live arachnid sales, analyzing nearly 7,000 posts from October to December 2020 and February to April 2022. They documented price, quantity, species, and seller location.

In total, they recorded at least 14,662 tarantulas from 135 species and 1,387 scorpions from 25 species across nearly 7,000 posts.

Although the majority of arachnids recorded in TRAFFIC’s study were nonnative — 96% of tarantulas and 64% of scorpions by volume — many fall under international trade regulations. Of the 42 arachnid species listed under global wildlife trade treaty CITES, the study recorded 28 tarantula species and one scorpion species being traded online. CITES listing means all of these require proper permits for legal import and export.

“Some of these could have been captive-bred,” study co-author Emerson Sy said in a news release. “But for threatened or CITES-listed species, legal trade in the Philippines requires a wildlife farm permit — and that’s rarely, if ever, indicated in these posts.”

The top tarantula was the curlyhair Tarantula (Tliltocatl albopilosus), native to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and globally popular in the exotic pet trade. Though relatively easy to breed in captivity, it continues to be heavily wild-sourced despite being listed under CITES Appendix II, which requires permits to regulate international trade and prevent overexploitation.

The most traded scorpion was the Asian forest scorpion (Heterometrus longimanus), with 373 individuals recorded. Native to Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, this species is popular for its large size and ease of care in captivity. But in the Philippines, it’s frequently poached from the wild in Palawan province and smuggled to Metro Manila and other urban centers.

Researchers identified more than 1,097 unique Facebook accounts involved in the trade. Of these, 200 were classified as active users, with 163 (81%) based on Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island. This concentration, the researchers say, highlights the need for prioritized law enforcement efforts in the area to curb illegal activities, and for companies like Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, to take a more active role in policing trading groups.

“Social media plays a significant role in facilitating wildlife trafficking,” Sy told Mongabay by email. “These platforms need to take a more proactive approach to mitigate the issue.”

Regulatory roadblocks

Under the Philippines’ Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, or RA 9147, all wildlife — whether wild-caught or captive-bred — must have permits for possession, transport or trade. In theory, this provides a clear regulatory framework. But in practice, Sy said, the main challenge is “weak law enforcement.”

“The Philippines has sufficient laws and policies regarding wildlife but the implementation, as in other countries, is the main gap,” Sy said. What’s needed, he added, is proactive trade monitoring, consistent enforcement, and in-depth investigations to identify key traffickers.

Serene Chng, TRAFFIC’s Southeast Asia program manager and study co-author, echoed that call for stronger coordination. While she praised past enforcement successes in the Philippines, including major seizures, she emphasized that efforts must be sustained and expanded across online platforms and international ports.

“The private sector, specifically online platforms and courier services, also have crucial roles to play. We urge them to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to ensure that they are not implicated in the online trade and transport of illegal wildlife,” she added.

Despite existing restrictions, traffickers adapt by using private chat groups and coded listings on online platforms, said Darell Acuña, a systematist and co-founder of the nonprofit research group Philippine Arachnological Society, Inc. This digital anonymity makes regulation and enforcement especially challenging, Acuña, who was not involved in the study, told Mongabay by email. “Platforms or couriers should be held accountable.”

Acuña also underscored the issue of poor compliance and awareness. “Many hobbyists are unaware of the legal requirements for owning or trading arachnids,” he said. “Meanwhile, the public often assumes that all arachnid keeping is illegal by default.” He called for public education campaigns to clarify the legal framework and highlight conservation risks. Policy reforms should focus on stricter enforcement, more transparent permitting, and community outreach, especially among potential poachers and sellers, he added.

Rising risk for native species

Beyond exotic imports, the study flags a more alarming trend: the emerging trade in native Philippine arachnids. Although fewer in number, these species are of significant conservation concern. They’re being poached and illegally shipped both domestically and internationally, primarily to supply the pet trade and, to a lesser extent, the scientific community — a pattern researchers inferred based on observations from online advertisements.

For instance, the Palawan blue dwarf tarantula (Phlogiellus johnreylazoi) was already circulating in the pet trade before it was formally described in 2016. Other native species, such as the Philippine orange tarantula (Orphnaecus philippinus) from Negros Island, have shown signs of overcollection, Sy noted.

Many native tarantulas remain formally undescribed, are likely found only in small, specific areas, and have yet to be assessed for conservation status by the global wildlife conservation authority IUCN. “This makes them at a high risk of being overexploited,” Sy said.

He added that removing native arachnids — key players in pest control and nutrient cycling through organic matter decomposition — could harm local biodiversity and ecosystem health: “When species are taken out of their natural habitat, they can no longer perform their specific ecological roles.”

Acuña said many of the specimens found in the arachnid pet trade are directly collected from the wild — especially adult females, which fetch higher prices. “The lack of established captive breeding programs — primarily because they are perceived as slow compared to wild collection — encourages ongoing poaching,” he said, adding that the practice poses serious risks for still-undescribed and unprotected species.

He also cautioned about the risk posed by escaped nonnative pets, especially pregnant females. “Such an event could lead to the release of hundreds or even thousands of spiderlings,” Acuña said, raising the possibility of an invasive species with unknown ecological consequences.

Banner image: The Curlyhair Tarantula (Tliltocatl albopilosus) is native to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and is globally popular in the exotic pet trade. Image by Richard Stickney via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Citations:

Dupont, S. (2024). Arachnids in ecosystem health and natural pest control. Research & Reviews: Journal of Zoological Sciences, 12(3). Retrieved from http://rroij.com/open-access/arachnids-in-ecosystem-health-and-natural-pest-control.pdf

Raymundo, J. J. G., Chng, S. C. L., & Sy, E. Y. (2024). The trade of live tarantulas and scorpions in a social media platform in the Philippines. Journal of Nature Studies, 23(2), 1-21. Retrieved from https://www.journalofnaturestudies.org/files/JNS23-2/1-21_Raymundo_Trade%20Tarantulas%20Scorpions.pdf