Endangered Exotic Pets on Social Media in the Middle East: Presence and Impact

Spee, Leonarda B.; Hazel, Susan J.; Grande, Eleonora Dal; Boardman, Wayne; Chaber, Anne‐Lise

doi:10.3390/ani9080480

Cited by 34 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Specialist training of enforcement personnel at ports is needed, and sometimes manuals and online sources have to be referred to, and outside expertise sought, in order to match species against descriptions on paperwork [ 208 ]. Online trade in wild animals as pets and the increased use of social media platforms for this purpose [ 209 , 210 , 211 ] has developed faster than the capacity of enforcement authorities to track, monitor, and regulate it [ 212 ]. Much of the trade, therefore, continues to operate underground [ 16 , 213 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists

Toland¹,

Bando²,

Hamers

et al. 2020

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The trading and keeping of exotic pets are associated with animal welfare, conservation, environmental protection, agricultural animal health, and public health concerns and present serious regulatory challenges to legislators and enforcers. Most legislation concerning exotic pet trading and keeping involves restricting or banning problematic species, a practice known as “negative listing”. However, an alternative approach adopted by some governments permits only the keeping of animals that meet certain scientifically proven criteria as suitable in respect of species, environmental, and public health and safety protections. We conducted an evaluation of positive lists for the regulation of pet trading and keeping within the context of the more prevalent system of restricting or prohibiting species via negative lists. Our examination of international, national, and regional regulations in Europe, the United States, and Canada found that criteria used for the development of both negative and positive lists were inconsistent or non-specific. Our online surveys of governments received limited responses, although telephone interviews with officials from governments either considering or developing positive lists provided useful insights into their attitudes and motivations towards adopting positive lists. We discuss key issues raised by civil servants including perceived advantages of positive lists and anticipated challenges when developing lists of suitable species. In addition, we compare functions of negative and positive lists, and recommend key principles that we hope will be helpful to governments concerning development and implementation of regulations based on positive lists.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists

Toland¹,

Bando²,

Hamers

et al. 2020

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Exotic pets are very popular in the Middle East [8 , 9] . By 2014, hundreds of pictures on social media depicted people with their pet cheetah or other exotic animals in the Arabian Peninsula [10] .…”

Section: Experimental Design Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global dataset for seized and non-intercepted illegal cheetah trade (Acinonyx jubatus) 2010–2019

Tricorache

Yashphe²,

Marker

2021

Data in Brief

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cheetahs ( Acinonyx jubatus ) are a keystone predator of savanna systems in Africa, yet their populations have dramatically declined due to pressures such as human-wildlife conflict, loss of habitat, and most notably the illegal trade in live cheetah cubs as pets. We provide the most extensive dataset relevant to seized and non-intercepted illegal trade in live cheetahs and cheetah parts for the decade 2010-2019, spanning over 300 sources and 56 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America. It includes 1,884 individual incidents involving at least 4,000 cheetahs or cheetah parts or products likely or confirmed to breach national laws or CITES regulations. While the covert nature of illegal trade of any kind makes it extremely difficult to capture its true volume, we believe that the information contained in this dataset demonstrates the need for a more in-depth look into illegal cheetah trade, including sustainability assessments with emphasis in regions where cheetah populations are small and widely exploited, such as the Horn of Africa, as this dataset suggests. Ultimately, such actions could lead to improved enforcement and legal frameworks, and provide a guide for CITES actions involving international cooperation and demand reduction efforts.

show abstract

“…Each market is driven by unique economic, cultural, and societal motivations [2], which fluctuate over time. Socio-economic factors such as increasing access to wealth, the commercialisation of wild animals in the media, and the diversification of online marketplaces are thought to be contributing factors to the growing demand for non-domestic animal trade across the world [14,15].…”

Section: Global Wildlife Tradementioning

confidence: 99%

Risky Business: Live Non-CITES Wildlife UK Imports and the Potential for Infectious Diseases

Green¹,

Coulthard

Norrey

et al. 2020

Animals

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

International wildlife trade is recognised as a major transmission pathway for the movement of pathogenic organisms around the world. The UK is an active consumer of non-native live wild animals and is therefore subject to the risks posed by pathogen pollution from imported wildlife. Here, we characterise a key yet overlooked portion of the UK wildlife import market. We evaluate the trade in live non-CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) wild terrestrial animals entering the UK over a 5-year period using data reported by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). Between 2014 and 2018, over 48 million individual animals, across five taxonomic classes and 24 taxonomic orders, were imported into the UK from 90 countries across nine global regions. The largest volumes of wild animals were imported from North America and Asia, and most of the import records were from Europe and Africa. Excluding Columbiformes (pigeons) and Galliformes (‘game birds’), amphibians were the most imported taxonomic class (73%), followed by reptiles (17%), mammals (4%), birds (3%), and arachnids (<1%). The records described herein provide insight into the scope and scale of non-CITES listed wildlife imported in to the UK. We describe the potential for pathogen pollution from these vast and varied wildlife imports and highlight the potential threats they pose to public health. We also draw attention to the lack of detail in the UK wildlife import records, which limits its ability to help prevent and manage introduced infectious diseases. We recommend that improved record keeping and reporting could prove beneficial in this regard.

show abstract

Endangered Exotic Pets on Social Media in the Middle East: Presence and Impact

Cited by 34 publications

References 26 publications

Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists

Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists

Global dataset for seized and non-intercepted illegal cheetah trade (Acinonyx jubatus) 2010–2019

Risky Business: Live Non-CITES Wildlife UK Imports and the Potential for Infectious Diseases

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About