An exotic pet is a pet that’s wild and not domesticated. Domestication is a selective breeding process that takes place over thousands of years. Snakes, parrots, iguanas, tortoises, and even otters – these are just some of the species suffering as pets around the world. Domesticated species include dogs, cats, and farm animals like horses, pigs and chickens.
There are legal and illegal sides to the exotic pet trade. But legality doesn’t matter; captive-bred or wild caught – it’s all cruel. And this trade is growing fast.
The journey for an animal in the exotic pet trade is cruel – and often deadly. Either poached from the wild or bred in captivity on a farm, exotic pets are often shipped huge distances before reaching their final destination. Sadly, as many as four out of five animals caught in the illegal wildlife trade will die in transit, or within a year in captivity.
Suffering is inevitable in a life of captivity.
It limits the natural behaviour of an animal and places both their mental and physical wellbeing at risk. They often lack adequate shelter, food, room to roam, and environment control to keep their body at the temperature it needs to be.
We believe that wild animals belong in the wild, not as pets. The reality is that a life in captivity is a world away from a life in the wild.
Animals bring joy to our lives, so why wouldn't we want them to be a part of our lives every day at home? Sadly, the truth is any wild animal that finds itself caught in the exotic pet trade experiences suffering.
Despite our best efforts we are just not equipped to provide wild animals with the care necessary to fulfil all their intrinsic needs. While keeping some exotic pets may be less cruel than others, no wild animal can have its needs met entirely in captivity.
Only domesticated animals like cats and dogs should be kept in our homes, as all their needs are met.
The glamorisation of exotic pets through pop culture and social media masks cruelty, and falsely legitimises the trade.
Even with a quick glance through Instagram, YouTube Weibo or Facebook you’ll find hundreds of photos and videos showcasing everything from tigers and sugar gliders, to ball pythons and turtles, with thousands of likes on each post.
We think these animals look cute, but they’ve actually been sentenced to a lifetime of suffering.
Our research shows that the ‘cute’ videos prospective purchasers see shared across social media influences their decision to buy a wild animal: a full 15% of surveyed exotic pet owners found inspiration for their purchase via YouTube videos.
We know that social media is a largely unregulated marketplace. Many platforms lack policies against the live trade and, in some countries, openly sell wild-caught animals.
By allowing the trade legally, they have opened the door to unregulated illegal trade in wildlife. Searching online, we found lovebirds for sale as low as USD $3 each, green iguanas for $12, macaws for $19,000 and even a giraffe for $50,000.
Governments across the globe must act and ban the global trade of wildlife now.
Wildlife trade is increasing the risks to human and animal health, compromising animal welfare, and placing biodiversity under immense and unsustainable pressure.
You can stand up for wildlife by making a promise to keep wild animals in the wild and not buy them as pets.
Good
ReplyDelete