Japan's Exotic Pet Trade A Danger to World Wildlife

Evegeny Lebedev who owns UK's Independent newspaper, started a campaign to Stop the Wildlife Trade, calling for an end to wildlife markets and international trade in wild animals. The campaign funded a study of Japan's exotic pet trade, historically one of the world's most active markets for rare species like slow lorises, pythons, and owls.  Demand for exotic pets has boomed, driven by 'social' and mass media.

An example of the pet trade motivating the illegal trade in endangered wildlife is the Asian small- clawed otter. Admittedly adorable, [photo] the endangered species became popular in "otter cafes", similar to cat cafes, where customers come in and interact with animals while sipping a their favorite beverage. Otters have very silky fur, which no doubt adds to their attraction. Importation of the animals was banned in November of last year, but not before several establishments were in business, one in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district keeping about 15 otters from Indonesia ranging in age from around 6 months to 2 years old.

The study was based on analysis of seizures made by Japanese customs, conviction records and media reports.  Under current Japanese law according to the study, there is minimal protection for nonnative species listed in Appendix I of CITES.  There were no more than ten seizures each year over the last twelve of listed animals, the majority of which were reptiles.  Among the mammals seized, 185 were primates and ten bats, both banned under infectious disease control laws.  Both species are known to be reservoirs or vectors for viruses that cause serious human diseases.  Virtually all the species appearing in seizure records can be sold legally as pets in the domestic market, bringing an average price of between $14,000 and $33,000.  Wildlife trade routes into the country from Thailand, China, Indonesia and Hong Kong are mostly by air, although some unfortunate creatures are shipped by mail.

Since 2007 18 defendants, all Japanese, were prosecuted.  Four were pet shop owners.  TRAFFIC, the organization which monitors international wildlife trade, said Japanese authorities are becoming increasingly aware of the seriousness of wildlife trafficking, despite the lack of jail sentences for those convicted.  The maximum sentence handed down in three cases that imposed incarceration was just one year and ten months.  Japan's custom laws recommends fines for violations instead of criminal charges. TRAFFIC has called for greater enforcement efforts of existing regulations, and a review of laws governing domestic sale of live animals in Japan.

would you eat this?

In a positive development in the fight against trade in endangered species, China has removed pangolins from its official pharmacopeia of traditional remedies. The animal's scales are used in folk medicine and pagolins are consumed as exotic food. [photo] Wildlife advocates called the move the greatest single action to protect the species from extinction. In China, pangolins will now receive the same protections as tigers and pandas.

Nevertheless, the illegal trade in pangolins and their body parts will go on as long as there is a demand.  Last year, authorities seized 130 tons of pangolin products, estimated to represent 400,000 animals. Pangolins are ancient insectivores about the size of a domestic cat. Some scientists think that pangolins incubate the SAR CoV-2 virus that has swept the world in the COVID-19 pandemic. Pangolins were known to have been sold in the Wuhan wet market were the pandemic is thought to originate.