The exotic pet trade fuels biodiversity and disease risks. Here's how to curb it

The global pet trade, particularly in exotic reptiles and amphibians, poses significant biodiversity and potential human health risks, scientists say; yet compared to other pressing crises like climate change, the solutions are relatively simple — if only governments would act on them.

Susan Lieberman, vice president for international policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society, based in the U.S., and Sandra Altherr, co-founder and head of science at Pro Wildlife, in Germany, join the Mongabay Newscast this week to discuss these solutions, which they've outlined in a commentary published in the journal Nature.

"The international wildlife trade for pets, reptiles, amphibians, and other species is a massive experiment," Lieberman says. "It's an experiment to see what diseases can come from one part of the world into another part of the world, and 'let's see what happens.' I think it's an experiment we should not be undertaking."

But the "exotic pet trade could be regulated very quickly, and this risk could be reduced very quickly," Altherr adds.

Both guests discuss what they identify as the main legal gaps that world governments could close, such as the fact that countries of origin have no or little legal recourse for species sold outside their borders.

Please take a minute to let us know what you think of our podcast here.

Mike DiGirolamo is the host & producer for the Mongabay Newscast based in Sydney. Find him on LinkedIn and Bluesky.

Banner image: The Jalisco mud turtle, endemic to the Jalisco and Colima states in Mexico, is a freshwater turtle found in rivers and wetlands. It is listed on CITES Appendix II, and its international trade is regulated. Image by Cheryl Harleston López Espino (CC-BY-NC-ND).

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Timecodes

(00:00) Why the Exotic Pet Trade Is Booming

(07:51) Disease Transmission Risks

(10:56) Legal Gaps in the Pet Trade

(13:47) EU Solutions, and Positive Lists

(17:16) A New UNTOC Protocol

(23:58) Lacey Act & Corruption Crackdown

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