The sheer scale of the exotic pet trade and its ever-expanding diversity of animals is ultimately driving species towards extinction and is regularly cited as a significant factor contributing to biodiversity loss. The problem is getting worse and time is running out.
In mainly tropical countries, wild animal populations have been decimated to supply the multi-billion dollar pet industry and annual exports are increasing year on year. High death rates during capture mean that the number of animals taken from a region may be significantly underestimated.
The internet has allowed both the legal and illegal wildlife trade to flourish. In particular, social media fuels the demand for exotic pets by normalising the keeping of wild animals in the home, and this increases pressure on wild animal populations.
The more endangered a species becomes, the more sought-after and valuable it is to dealers, which can accelerate its decline.
The majority of species in the exotic pet trade are not protected by international agreements, and so there is no limit on how many individuals can be removed from their natural habitat. Even where limits are set, they are often ignored. As a result, wild animal populations that were once healthy can quickly become endangered.
Scientists have learned to be deliberately vague about the whereabouts of newly discovered species, as they are likely to be quickly tracked down by wildlife dealers. The pet industry is so out of control that numerous species previously unknown to science have even been discovered, not in their natural habitat, but in the pet trade!
It is estimated that around 25% of the wildlife trade is illegal. Animals are often taken from the wild in countries where it is illegal to do so. However, once they reach European countries, those same animals can be openly sold without fear of prosecution.
Research has also shown that a large proportion of animals, although declared as ‘captive-bred’, have actually been taken from the wild and laundered through supposed breeding centres to appear legal.
Unlike the illicit trades in drugs and arms, the illegal exotic pet trade does not have to go to great lengths to conceal its activity. It often hides in plain sight by using the legal trade as a cover. Fortunately for animal dealers, the legal trade is poorly regulated and enforcement is weak.
Enforcement officers are often overwhelmed by the enormous diversity of species in the trade and struggle to identify those that are prohibited. Illegal dealers exploit this weakness by mislabelling species or mixing protected species with legal shipments of wild animals. Fraudulent paperwork is also used. None of these methods would be available to traffickers if a legal trade did not exist.
* Top banner image: Bangaii cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) are native to the Bangaii Islands of Indonesia and are threatened with extinction due to collection for the aquarium trade.