What’s next? The release of exotic pets continues virtually unabated 7 years after enforcement of new legislation for managing invasive species

Identifying inconsistencies in exotic pet regulations that perpetuate trade in risky species

Regulatory inconsistencies at different jurisdictional levels have contributed to the global expansion of the exotic pet trade, with resultant increases in the spread of invasive species and pathogens. Researchers have enumerated multiple limitations and environmental risks posed by international and national rules that govern the exotic pet trade, yet little attention has focused on the regulation of the exotic pet trade within national borders. We reviewed state-level regulations that apply to the trade of vertebrate animal taxa in the United States. Definitions and classifications for regulating different vertebrate taxa varied greatly across states, and the terms pet and companion animal were poorly defined and inconsistent across states. States implemented regulations that permit trade in exotic vertebrate pets that are banned from import into the United States owing to public health and conservation concerns. Once species have been imported into the United States, inconsistent internal regulations facilitate the movement of animals that pose substantial invasion and disease risks. Violations of state laws were typically listed as misdemeanors, and the median fine for violating state wildlife trade laws was $1000. Inconsistent and incomplete regulation of exotic vertebrate pets across state borders, in conjunction with limited penalties for violating regulations, has facilitated continued possession of exotic pets in states where these animals are banned. Based on our review of regulatory weaknesses, we conclude that a transition to a federally enforced list of vertebrate species that may be traded as pets is needed, with all other vertebrate species banned from the exotic pet trade unless their potential invasion and disease risks have been assessed and demonstrated to be low or nonexistent.

An Influx of Non-Native Bird Species into the Natural Environment Owing to the Accidental Release of Pet Birds in Japan

The escape of pet birds into the wild raises concerns about the introduction of invasive avian species. This study investigated the impact of escaped pet birds on the introduction of non-native species in Japan. Data sourced from four lost-and-found pet websites between January 2018 and December 2021 revealed 12,125 recorded escapes exhibiting both daily occurrences and seasonal fluctuations. Statistical modeling identified the monthly average temperature (positively correlated) and maximum electricity demand (negatively correlated) as influential factors. Text analysis revealed "window" and "open" as frequently cited reasons for escapes. Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) and Cockatiels (Nymphicus hollandicus) accounted for 76% of the total escape, suggesting a low perceived risk of establishment in nonnative environments. Interestingly, two globally established invasive species, the Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), were among the escaped birds. While the Rose-ringed Parakeet is locally naturalized in Tokyo and its adjacent prefectures, the Monk Parakeet failed to establish itself in Japan. Despite the limited number of escaped Monk Parakeets, ongoing efforts are crucial for preventing the potential re-establishment of species with such capabilities.

Foreign stingers: South American freshwater river stingrays Potamotrygon spp. established in Indonesia

The pet trade is known to be one of the most important pathways of aquatic non-native species introduction and Indonesia is a significant trade partner. Popular ornamental South American river stingrays (Potamotrygon spp.) were introduced to Indonesia in the 1980s and the culture was established. Here we present a detailed Indonesian market and aquaculture survey, the volume of trade between January 2020 and June 2022, and the list of customer countries with the total amount of imported stingrays. Climate similarities between the native range of P. motoro and P. jabuti and Indonesia were analysed. A significant number of areas of Indonesian islands were identified as suitable for the establishment of this species. This was confirmed by the first record of probably established populations in the Brantas River (Java). In total 13 individuals including newborns were captured. The culture of potamotrygonid stingrays is unregulated in Indonesia, and the risk of the establishment of this predator and its potential spread is alarming for wildlife. Moreover, the first case of envenomation caused by Potamotrygon spp. in the wild outside of South America was recorded. The current condition is predicted as the 'tip of the iceberg' and continuous monitoring and mitigation of risks are strongly recommended.

Marine or freshwater: the role of ornamental fish keeper's preferences in the conservation of aquatic organisms in Brazil

Background

The use of ornamental fish as pets has important implications for the conservation of the species used in fish keeping, particularly in relation to overexploitation. Understanding ornamental fish keepers' relationship with the hobby can provide important information for assessing the potential impacts of the activity. Here, we analyzed the profile of Brazilian ornamental fish keepers and evaluated their preferences and the implications of their choices.

Methods

Information was obtained by applying questionnaires to 906 ornamental fish keepers participating in fish keeping groups in a social network. The questionnaire contained questions about the species of fish kept (freshwater and marine), techniques used, socio-economic aspects, and associated conservation perspectives.

Results

Most ornamental fish keepers were young men (20-40 years old), with higher education and monthly income above US$ 530.00. Participants predominantly kept freshwater fish (86%), but marine fish only (5%) or both marine and freshwater hobbyists (9%) were also recorded. A total of 523 species of ornamental fish were kept, most of which comprised freshwater (76% of the total) and exotic species (73%). About a third of the fish species recorded were under national trade restrictions. In addition, about a third of ornamental fish keepers declared that they also had invertebrates. Marine aquariums require a greater financial investment, especially at the beginning, than freshwater aquariums and are also almost entirely based on exotic species. The aesthetic factor is the main motivation associated with practicing this hobby, being color and behavior key factors in choosing fish. A total of 10% of hobbyists have already released fish into the wild, highlighting concerns about potential biological invasions. There is an urgent need to enforce regulations towards restricting ornamental fish keepers' access to threatened native species and potentially invasive species, as well as measures aimed at informing and raising hobbyists' awareness of conservation measures related to the hobby.

Perceptions and risk behaviors regarding biological invasions in inland aquatic ecosystems

Public engagement is vital to effectively manage Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and biosecurity campaigns directed to stakeholders are decisive to raise awareness regarding IAS regulations and problems. To design and implement adequate communication plans, stakeholders' perceptions and risk behaviors regarding IAS need to be monitored by surveys. IAS do not recognize borders and most countries are not biogeographically isolated. Therefore, international information and consensus are necessary when applying measures at a biogeographic scale. Our bilingual survey was performed at the Iberian Peninsula, targeting the general public, decision-makers and other stakeholders, covering all taxa associated to inland aquatic ecosystems. We found differences in IAS' awareness between countries, and between different stakeholder groups. Results showed that the awareness of socioeconomic and human health impacts is substantially lower when compared with impacts on biodiversity. We found that the perception regarding the predation impacts is consistent across groups and countries, while other perceptions differ. The negative socioeconomic impact on angling due to IAS introductions is widely recognized. However, angling is also the activity most referred as positively impacted by IAS due to fish introductions. Most responders knew what IAS are, providing correct species examples. For all three awareness types (Biodiversity, Socio-economic and Human health) the model regressions showed that the most important predictor was the country of provenance of the respondent, followed by Education level for the socio-economic and biodiversity regressions and the stakeholder group in the Human health regression. We can conclude that in Portugal and Spain the general public and other key target-groups have reduced understanding of some threats posed by IAS. We highlight that raising awareness about IAS impacts on humans, namely on socio-economic aspects and human health, may be more effective and it is certainly needed in education campaigns towards IAS.

Blacklists do not necessarily make people curious about invasive alien species. A case study with Bayesian structural time series and Wikipedia searches about invasive mammals in Italy

Blacklists of invasive alien species (IAS) are a popular tool for managing and preventing biological invasions. Moreover, blacklists also have the potential to make the general public more curious about biological invasions, usually by benefiting from media coverage and providing accessible examples of IAS.

We have tested if the implementation of the first List of IAS of Union concern by the European Union increased visits to Wikipedia pages on invasive alien mammals in Italy. We adopted causal impact analysis to quantify changes in the overall volume of visits to pages about invasive alien mammals that appeared on the list, by using pages about native mammals as a control. Following the publication of the first Union list, there was no increase in the amount of visits to Wikipedia pages on invasive mammals, regardless of their inclusion in the Union list. Rather, visits to Wikipedia were irregular in time, coinciding with media coverage of single, charismatic species.

Our results indicate that important policymaking initiatives do not necessarily increase curiosity about biological invasions, even when they are covered by generalist media and are relatively easy to understand. We would therefore emphasise that policymaking initiatives should be coupled with adequate communication campaigns and should adopt communication guidelines for generalist media.

Management of invasive alien species in Spain: A bibliometric review

Scientific and grey literature on invasive alien species (IAS) is conditioned by social, economic and political priorities, editorial preferences and species and ecosystem characteristics. This leads to knowledge gaps and mismatches between scientific research interests and management needs. We reviewed the literature on IAS management in Spain found in Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Dialnet to identify key deficiencies and priority research areas. The collected literature was classified, employing features describing formal aspects and content. We used bibliometric and keyword co-occurrence network analyses to assess the relationship between features and reveal the existence of additional topics. Most of the compiled documents (n = 388) were focused on terrestrial ecosystems and inland waters, whereas marine and urban ecosystems were under-represented. The literature was largely generic and not species-specific, focusing on raising awareness and proposing changes on current regulation as prominent approaches to prevent further introductions. The compiled authors exhibited many clear publishing preferences (e.g. language or document type), but less regarding target taxa. In addition, there was a strong association between species and the different features considered, especially between the methodological approach (e.g. review, field experiment) and the primary emphasis of study (i.e. basic/theoretical, applied or interdisciplinary). This indicates that research on IAS has had a strong species-specific focus. References about terrestrial species focused mainly on vascular plants, whereas references about inland waters were mostly on fishes and the giant reed (Arundo donax), which has been managed with partial success. Animal culling and plant removal were the most frequent eradication and small-scale control treatments, whereas the documents addressing wider spatial scales were largely theoretical. Consequently, the success of described treatments was largely uncertain. Spanish invasion science research has been occasionally innovative, incorporating novel technologies (e.g. species distribution modelling) and engaging society with citizen-science approaches. However, the ratio between basic/theoretical and applied studies indicates that more applied research/management is needed, especially in inland waters and marine ecosystems. We call for increasing effort in the effective dissemination of experience in IAS management to enhance current practical knowledge, including that of schemes undertaken by public agencies.

Invasiveness is linked to greater commercial success in the global pet trade

The pet trade has become a multibillion-dollar global business, with tens of millions of animals traded annually. Pets are sometimes released by their owners or escape, and can become introduced outside of their native range, threatening biodiversity, agriculture, and health. So far, a comprehensive analysis of invasive species traded as pets is lacking. Here, using a unique dataset of 7,522 traded vertebrate species, we show that invasive species are strongly overrepresented in trade across mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. However, it is unclear whether this occurs because, over time, pet species had more opportunities to become invasive, or because invasive species have a greater commercial success. To test this, we focused on the emergent pet trade in ants, which is too recent to be responsible for any invasions so far. Nevertheless, invasive ants were similarly overrepresented, demonstrating that the pet trade specifically favors invasive species. We show that ant species with the greatest commercial success tend to have larger spatial distributions and more generalist habitat requirements, both of which are also associated with invasiveness. Our findings call for an increased risk awareness regarding the international trade of wildlife species as pets.

From the Andes to the Apennines: Rise and Fall of a Free-Ranging Population of Feral Llamas

Simple Summary

Domestic mammals may become invasive alien species when introduced within natural environments and when they establish reproductive populations. One of the most common pathways of species introduction is represented by intentional or accidental escapes from confined environments, including zoos, farms and enclosures. A feral population of llama Lama glama has been present in Central Italy since 2016 after escaping from a zoological garden. In 2020, only three individuals were confirmed to be still present within a 40-hectare area, following a field survey. We carried out questionnaires with the resident human population to determine the local perception and the acceptance of two possible management actions, i.e., direct killing and surgical sterilization. Llamas are quite docile domestic animals, thus local perception was, in general, very positive and also linked to the exotic origin of the species, making llamas a welcome observation and a pleasant surprise. The observed decline of this population may be due to predation by wolves and poaching, together with the lack of suitability of natural environment, which may have prevented llamas establishing an invasive population. In this context, however, individual removal action should be conducted before the population shows a demographic rebound.

Abstract

Since 2016, a feral population of llama Lama glama has been present in Central Italy after escaping from a zoological garden and starting to reproduce. We updated demographic status and distribution of this population and investigated societal perception towards the llama presence and management in the area through a standard questionnaire. Field data were collected through direct (transects traveled by car and on foot) and indirect (newspapers, social networks and online platforms) research. The feral population appears to be declining. In July 2020, the population was represented by three individuals (one male and two females), identified also through photoidentification, most likely located within a 40-hectare area. The majority of citizens are aware of the presence of feral llamas and show a positive attitude toward them and a negative one toward management actions. The case of feral llamas in Italy is an evident example of unsafe management of a species which should have kept in a zoo and which, once set free, was able to catalyze the attention of the general public. The decline of this population limits the need of drastic management actions that, given the appreciation expressed by people and press toward these animals, would have been at risk of conflict with the public opinion. Removal action should be rapidly taken, i.e., before any demographic rebound and before the population becomes a stable feature of the local landscape.

Amelioration of Pet Overpopulation and Abandonment Using Control of Breeding and Sale, and Compulsory Owner Liability Insurance

Simple Summary

Overpopulation and abandonment of pets are long-standing and burgeoning concerns that involve uncontrolled breeding and selling, illegal trafficking, overpopulation, and pet-safety and well-being issues. Historical and current prevention measures for avoiding these problems, such as sanctions, taxes, or responsibility education, have failed to provide significant moderation or resolution. Globally, millions of pets are commercially and privately bred and abandoned annually, damaging biodiversity and ecosystems, and presenting road safety and public health risks, in addition to becoming victims of hardship, abuse, and illegal trafficking, especially in the case of exotic species. This article proposes a novel comprehensive management system for amelioration of overpopulation and abandonment of pets by using greater control of supply and demand of the pet market, highlighting the role of the compulsory owner liability insurance to prevent pet abandonment and all its associated costs. This system aims to act preventatively, through flexible protocols within the proposed management system to be applied to any pet and any country.

Abstract

Overpopulation and abandonment of pets are long-standing and burgeoning concerns that involve uncontrolled breeding and selling, illegal trafficking, overpopulation, and pet safety and well-being issues. Abandonment of pets creates numerous negative externalities and multimillion-dollar costs, in addition to severe consequences and problems concerning animal welfare (e.g., starvation, untreated disease, climatic extremes, uncertainty of rescue and adoption), ecological (e.g., invasive species and introduction of novel pathogens), public health and safety (e.g., risks to people from bites, zoonoses, or road hazards), and economic (e.g., financial burdens for governmental and nongovernmental organizations). These interwoven problems persist for several reasons, including the following: (1) lack of an efficient system for the prevention of abandonment and overpopulation, (2) lack of regulatory liability for pet owners, (3) lack of legal alternative to abandonment. This article proposes a novel comprehensive management system for amelioration of overpopulation and abandonment of pets aimed to tackle the current supply and demand dysfunction of the pet market and provide a legal alternative to abandonment.

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

Simple Summary

In regulating the trading and keeping of exotic pets, lawmakers seek to protect animal welfare, prevent species declines, and safeguard biodiversity. The public also requires protection from pet-related injuries and animal-to-human diseases. 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 those species that meet certain scientifically proven criteria to be sold and kept as pets. Thus, governments may “positively list” only those species that are suitable to keep in domestic settings and that do not present a disproportionate risk to people or the environment. We reviewed international, national, and regional legislation in Europe, the United States, and Canada and found that largely unpublished and often inconsistent criteria are used for the development of negative and positive lists. We also conducted online surveys of governments, which received limited responses, although telephone interviews with governments either considering or developing positive lists revealed insights regarding their interest and motivation towards positive lists. We discuss key issues raised by civil servants including the perceived advantages of positive lists and challenges they anticipate in drawing up suitable lists of species. We compare functions of negative and positive lists and offer recommendations to governments concerning the development and implementation of positive lists.

Abstract

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.

On the Record: An Analysis of Exotic Pet Licences in the UK

Keeping exotic pets has become a popular habit in the UK in recent decades. Yet, information on the current scale of the trade and the diversity of animals involved is lacking. Here, we review the licensed sale of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals as exotic pets in the UK, identifying current geographical hotspots of trader activity, data gaps, and compliance issues related to this trade. In terms of trade volume, records showed large numbers of individual wild animals, across a wide range of species groups, are being legally sold in the UK. Maximum numbers of exotic pets permitted for sale included 54,634 amphibians, 64,810 reptiles, 23,507 birds, and 6,479 mammals. Moreover, nearly 2000 pet traders located in 283 different local authority areas had permission to sell exotic pets. The scope and scale of the trade draws additional attention to the substantial animal welfare challenges associated with it, and our review serves to highlight several shortcomings associated with the licensed exotic pet trade in the UK. Pet shop licences often lacked detailed information about the specific type and number of animals permitted for sale, which raises compliance concerns and hinders efforts to carry out adequate inspection and monitoring. Ninety-five pet traders in England had been given a one star rating, indicating 'minor failings' in animal welfare, and some local authorities in England were still operating under the old Pet Animals Act (1951). We recommend that resources should be prioritised and focused towards local authorities in England that are not operating under the new Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations (2018), and that local authorities should improve data reporting on all licenses issued to aid inspection and monitoring.