Exotic pet

Legality

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, or CITES, moderates the trade of some exotic pets around the world, to prevent any threats to their survival and ecological damage. Certain animals may be strictly regulated or restricted outright due to both their conservation status, as well as the possibility of the animal becoming an invasive species.^[5]

The USDA issues permits for keeping and breeding certain exotic species, whether captured from the wild or bred. In the United States, for example, it is illegal to import non-human primates for the pet trade, but animals bred in captivity exist in the trade, using animals descended from those brought in legally before the ban was enacted. As of September 2014, most US states forbid or regulate the possession of exotic pets, but 5 states have no license or permit requirements.^[6]

In 2003, the US Captive Wild Animal Safety Act became law and in September 2007 the US Fish and Wildlife Service enacted rules to enforce the CWASA. The law now bans the sale or transport of big cats, which includes lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, snow leopards, clouded leopards, cheetahs and their hybrids across state lines for the pet trade.^[7]

Trafficking

Illegally transporting exotic pets is also known as wildlife smuggling, and the industry generates an estimated $7 Billion to $23 Billion (USD) each year.^[8]

While there are many ways that live animals are smuggled across borders, there are often heavy losses due to the methods of transportation; many species of small animals can be piled into tiny, and usually airtight, containers and often die as a result.^[9] In one example of smuggling, slow lorises trafficked from Indonesia have their teeth removed prior to being sold locally, or exported to Japan or Russia. The animals are not given any pain relievers during their surgeries.^[10]

International treaties (such as CITES) have been established to combat the illegal sale and transport of vulnerable animals and plants, but failure to properly enforce these regulations leave many loopholes for the illegal trade to continue. For example, the United States has both signed CITES during its creation as well as created its own national laws against the import and sale of elephant ivory, but as of 2008 it was found to be the second largest importer of it behind China. ^[11]

Impact on the world

Historically, trade in exotic pets has been known to drive the destruction and extinction of animals in the wild. To a much smaller extent, this holds today: one of the major factors behind the status of the slow loris is the fact it is often kept locally as a pet, or traded to Japan.

However, with captive breeding of exotic animals becoming more prevalent, fewer and fewer animals are being captured from the wild.

Health

Veterinary costs for treatment of exotic animals may be significantly higher than for a more conventional pet, owing to the increased specialization required.^[12]

Zoonotic disease is known to occur in a small number of exotic pets. The American Veterinary Medical Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Animal Control Association, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and the CDC all discourage the private ownership of certain exotic animals.^[13] Animals that are captive-bred in the United States have no risk of contracting any harmful disease as they are not exposed to it in any way.

In the UK, where exotic pet ownership is high, voluntary organizations such as "SEEPR" (South East Exotic Pet Rescue) take in unwanted, ill, or lost exotic animals and nurse them back to full health before rehoming them.

Husbandry

Providing appropriate environmental conditions, housing and diet for an exotic animal may be difficult for several reasons:

• insufficient information may be available on caring for such animals in captivity, though this is rapidly changing.
• adequate housing may be difficult and/or expensive to procure or build. This is usually only a problem for large and/or highly active animals that need a large amount of space.
• it may be difficult to provide the correct environment (such as temperature or amount of sunlight)
• feeding the correct diet may be difficult or impossible
• providing the right social environment for highly social species may be impractical or impossible in a home setting.
• licensing may be required for the owning or breeding of some exotic animals. Most US states and municipalities, for example, regulate exotic pet ownership.

However, captive care and husbandry information for many commonly kept amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small exotic mammals are widely available through literature, animal enthusiast groups, and Internet websites and discussion forums.

Risk to humans

Exotic animals retain their unpredictable wild nature, with some being physically capable of maiming or killing their owners. Mammals are the most likely exotic pets to injure or kill humans, with non-human primates topping the list.

Even if they are bred for the pet trade and raised by humans, they may be unpredictable, relatively resistant to training; in some cases, especially as full-grown adults, they can be dangerous. Injuries to humans may be relatively common, but reported yearly deaths due to exotic pet ownership are rare. Statistics compiled by an advocacy organization^[14] indicate a yearly average of less than 3.5 fatalities per year in the United States;^[15] and another lists 87 exotic animal incidents resulting in human death from Jun 20, 1990 to Apr 15, 2016.^[16]

Primates

Animal markets in impoverished, tropical countries often sell primates, such as these slow lorises, to both tourists and local people as pets, despite laws against the trade.

It has been estimated that as many as 15,000 non-human primates are kept by private individuals as pets in the United States.^[17] Nine states ban the keeping of non-human primates, but no federal law regulates ownership. In 1975, the Center for Disease Control prohibited their import into the US for use as pets. The breeding industry uses descendants of animals imported before 1975.^[18] Non-human primates of various species, including those listed as endangered, such as cottontop tamarins, baboons, chimpanzees, Diana monkeys, lemurs and gibbons are still available for purchase in the US, although due to captive breeding, this does not affect wild populations. For example, chimpanzees are popular in some areas despite their strength, aggression, and wild nature. Even in areas where keeping non-human primates as pets is illegal, the exotic pet trade continues to prosper and some people keep chimpanzees as pets mistakenly believing that they will bond with them for life. As they grow, so do their strength and aggression; some owners and others interacting with the animals have lost fingers and suffered severe facial damage among other injuries sustained in attacks.^[19]

Many professionals, including veterinarians, zoologists, humane societies and others, strongly discourage the keeping of primates as pets, as their complex emotional and social needs and other highly specialized requirements may be difficult to meet by the average owner.^[19][20]

Although the breeding population has been largely isolated from wild populations outside the US, they still have the potential to transmit zoonotic disease. There is a considerable risk of monkey B virus from rhesus macaques. Research workers have died from this disease contracted from non-human primate research subjects.^[21] Additionally, there is considerable risk to the non-human primate pet through transmission of human disease. One such example is herpes simplex virus, which can be deadly to certain smaller monkeys.^[17]