Animals in the Pet Trade

Illegal wildlife trade is Big Business

Despite being described as captive-bred, or coming with official-looking documents, the reality is that many wild animals offered for sale are collected from the wild. Globally, the illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions a year and is thought to involve at least 100 million animals and plants. It’s the fourth most lucrative illegal industry after drugs, human trafficking, and arms; and the exotic pet trade is a big part of it. 

Many animals sold as pets are taken from wild populations whose numbers are plummeting. Some are listed on Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). CITES is the global treaty regulating the import and export of at-risk species. It aims to ensure that trade in them is sustainable and traceable. Being listed on Appendix I, as the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) Electric Blue Gecko is, means that international trade in them is illegal. 

But fewer than 10% of known plants and animals and 1% of fish are listed. Many that aren’t are also endangered or their numbers are unknown, sometimes because they were only recently discovered.

Why do people buy wild animals as pets?

There’s the unquenchable desire for novelty, particularly when new species are discovered. High prices of tens of thousands of dollars or euros ramp up their allure. Some people see themselves as animal lovers/ collectors/ investors. Or their wild pet is a way to earn income: songbird owners in Indonesia enter their warblers in singing competitions in the hopes of winning hefty prizes. There’s the need to be perceived as ‘cool’, to own a living creature considered ‘rare’ or ‘unusual’. For the super-rich in Saudi Arabia and UAE, nailing another status symbol, like a cheetah, to show off their wealth, is important. 

TV shows and movies with exotic animal characters may have an influence. For instance, following the release of Finding Nemo in 2003, there was an estimated 40% increase in the demand for clownfish in the marine aquarium trade. Or the perception that the caged creature with soulful eyes is ‘cute’ – and docile – can be enough for someone to want it for their child. 

Social media and wildlife trafficking

The widespread use of e-commerce platforms and social media makes buying and selling these wild species less costly or traceable. Pictures or videos of animals dressed up, or tigers on leads in human environments, can make keeping them seem normal. Selling this way also allows traffickers to avoid taxes and border controls as they use courier and postal services to mail prospective pets. 

Others use underground routes and cruelly ingenious ways – like stuffing birds in socks and taping their beaks shut – to smuggle them across borders. Because the activity is illegal, there are no inspections, veterinary screenings, or quarantine. It goes without saying that hygiene standards are practically non-existent.

Estimated mortality rates from illegally traded wildlife can be staggeringly high. Roughly 60%, and sometimes up to 90%, of poached African grey parrots – the most popular pet birds in the world – are thought to die before they reach their destinations. To compensate, poachers grab more of these smart and endangered human mimics than they need.

Customs and low-priority wildlife crime

There are no figures for the number of wild animals who die before they leave their country of origin. And while some of these have laws protecting native species, they’re often not enforced. Those with extraordinary biodiversity, like Columbia or Vietnam, often lack the ability to keep tabs on what is going on. And when traffickers are caught, sentences are often lenient. 

The US is one of the biggest importers of wild animals as pets. Each year, more than 200 million live animals arrive at its ports and thousands more illegal shipments are intercepted. The EU is another of the largest markets for wildlife and one of the biggest consumers of illegal wildlife, particularly reptiles. 

Between 2000 and 2014, the US is believed to have imported 3.24 billion live animals, half from the wild. Most were destined for the pet trade. But understaffing, low conviction rates and historically lenient sentences for traders whose cargoes of prospective pets arrive starving and diseased, means that morale among inspectors isn’t always high.

Captive, cared-for and happy? 

Those that do survive the journey must adapt to their new home. Their owners – who may be unaware their new ‘pet’ is a threatened species – may not be able to read its distress, nor understand its needs. Worse, they may believe others who tell them the individual is happy, when it isn’t. 

It’s said that as many as 75% of reptiles die during their first year of captivity. There are stories of Big Cats forced to live in backyards and basements, of solitary and distressed primates. Sadly, too many wild pets are caged in areas thousands of times smaller than the natural spaces they’re used to and fed inappropriate diets. 

Some of these will be seasonal eaters and the commercially available pet food they may be given is unlikely to fulfil their needs. Many develop obesity, tooth decay and vitamin deficiencies, alongside behaviour disorders. Feather plucking, self-mutilation, repetitive behaviours, and aggression are common.