If you’re thinking of posting that pic of you riding an elephant during your vacation in Thailand on social media, you may want to reconsider. As of Monday, whenever an Instagram user searches for or clicks on a hashtag that is commonly connected to abusive behavior toward animals, including posing with and holding wild animals, the following warning message will pop up:You are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behavior to animals or the environment. Users who click through to “learn more” are directed to a page on wildlife exploitation, with information warning tourists against taking photos with exotic animals. “We encourage you to be mindful of your interactions with wild animals, and consider whether an animal has been smuggled, poached or abused for the sake of tourism,” Instagram’s page reads. Now hundreds of hashtag combinations will trigger the warning, an Instagram rep told HuffPost, ranging from phrases that tend to be used on photos of tourists with captive animals, such as #lionselfie, to more nefarious ones connected to illegal animal trafficking, like #exoticanimalforsale.

Source: Huffington Post December 04, 2017 23:48 UTC