Three-quarters of reptiles saved as unique pets die within a yr. Folks have saved unique pets throughout historical past, but demand for unique creatures has exploded lately A lot of this may be attributed to the popularity of e-commerce and social media websites, which have supplied a method for folks to easily advertise the sale of live animals They’ve additionally popularized exotic animals by providing a spot where people can show them off.
Pointing fingers on the culprits behind pet store counters and lounge curtains alike is straightforward, yet hiding even deeper in the darkness are the quiet facilitators of the exotic pet fad – the industry’s pleasant civil servants and a small minority of veterinarians with commerce sympathies or direct vested pursuits.
The commerce in wild species, which these days covers every thing from prairie canine to wolves, big cats and bears, is often criticized for driving species toward extinction, disrupting ecosystems and introducing pathogens hazardous to wildlife, livestock and humans.
The RSPCA informed the BBC that they’ve seen unique animals corresponding to bearded dragons on sale for as little as £20 on-line. Meanwhile, the snakes are lowering the number of raccoons, possums, bobcats, and even deer. Here, we synthesize data across taxa and research disciplines to document the unique pet trade’s contribution to vertebrate biological invasions.
A few of this commerce is legal, but many instances animals are captured from the wild illegally to provide demand for unique pets. In 2000, solely about 20 shops on Taobao, China’s largest online shopping platform, bought unique pets. But many people don’t realize that conserving pygmy hedgehogs, Fischer’s lovebirds and bush infants can be simply as detrimental to those fragile species.