Tighter controls on the movement of animals and the global pet trade have been agreed on at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi.
Environmentalists and scientists praised the vote on Motion 108, which calls for global guidelines on the commercial trade of wild animals as pets to address an urgent crisis.
More than 90 per cent of delegates voting supported international rules to address threats to biodiversity, animal welfare, human and animal health and the rule of law.
The motion called on the establishment of a global task force to review the current state of the commercial pet trade in wildlife, including understanding the nature of the problem for biodiversity conservation. Guidelines will be set out to clearly define the commercial live pet trade, based on science, to prevent the most vulnerable species from entering the trade.
Around the world, millions of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates are taken from the wild every year for the pet trade – leaving forests and grasslands silent and stripped of pollinators, seed dispersers and predators.
More controls over the international pet trade would address biodiversity and animal welfare issues as well as the rising threat of zoonotic diseases.
“IUCN’s leadership in developing clear, practical guidelines will give countries the tools they need to regulate this trade responsibly – and help stop the silent emptying of our forests, grasslands and waters,” said Dr Liz Bennett, vice president of the Wildlife Conservation Society species programme. “This motion responds to an emergency for wildlife conservation and public health. The wildlife pet trade is expanding rapidly, often driven by online demand, with devastating impacts on species, risks of the spread of disease and of the introduction of invasive species.”
Rampant online trade
In the US alone in the past four years, almost 100,000 listings for live reptiles and amphibians of 652 species appeared on pet-trading websites.
In Indonesia, in a three-year period, nearly 200,000 wild birds of 95 species were recorded as being transported between two islands. For every wild animal that reaches a buyer in the trade, many more die during capture or in transit, a hidden toll beyond what trade numbers alone reveal.
The trade in live wildlife for the pet and hobbyist markets poses a significant risk of the spillover of pathogens and the spread of diseases of zoonotic origin, and of the spread of invasive species which also pose a major threat to native species, scientists said.
“The adoption of Motion 108 is an essential step to bringing global attention to the wildlife pet trade – an urgent, but often overlooked, crisis,” said Dr Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy at the WCS.
“We are witnessing species disappear and ecosystems unravel as millions of animals are taken from the wild for commercial sale – to feed the desires of hobbyists, collectors, and pet owners for colourful and exotic pets. This new IUCN task force and the resulting guidelines will help governments take science-based, precautionary action before more species become endangered due to this insidious trade.”
The vote to support species in crisis has been widely supported, as health experts backed new protocols to contain the rise of zoonotic disease.
Spread of disease
One of those is leprosy, which can be transmitted to humans who illegally hunt wild armadillos and handle their meat for consumption, a recent study found.
The bacterial infection damages nerves, muscles, skin, eyes and respiratory tract, and can cause patches of pale or discoloured skin.
More cases of leprosy are reported in Brazil than any nation except India, and is thought to be a result of the illegal trade in armadillos which are hunted for their skin and meat.
Conservationists and health experts around the world have called for a One Health approach to wildlife and nature to prevent heath pandemics.
One Health is a collaborative, integrated framework that recognises the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health to prevent the emergence and spread of diseases that can be transmitted through wildlife trade.
“The unregulated pet trade is not just a conservation issue – it’s a One Health crisis,” said Dr Sarah Olson an expert in environmental and public health. “We’re seeing interconnected risks to wildlife, people, livestock, and food security. Prevention is far more effective than reacting to the next outbreak.”
