A recent study has revealed that only 9% of reptile species involved in the global wildlife trade are protected under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). This lack of regulation raises concerns about the overexploitation of wild populations.
The study also found that approximately 90% of traded reptile species include individuals sourced from the wild, rather than captivity. Alarmingly, newly described species often appear in the trade within a year of their discovery being published in scientific studies.
The authors of the study are advocating for a reversal of the CITES process, proposing that only certain species should be allowed for trade, while the trade of all other species should be banned.
The Problem with Current CITES Regulations
In 2019, conservation scientist Alice Hughes attended a CITES meeting in Geneva, where proposals to protect heavily traded species of Asian songbirds and tropical fish were denied. Hughes noted that the focus remained on more “charismatic” and high-value animals, with the justification that listing a large number of species was too costly.
This experience led Hughes, along with colleagues Benjamin Marshall and Colin Strine, to investigate the global wildlife trade, focusing on reptiles. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, highlight the significant gaps in regulation and the impact of unregulated trade on wild populations.
“Reptiles were ideal for this study because only 9% are monitored by CITES, and much of the trade occurs online,” Hughes explained.
Key Findings of the Study
The researchers analyzed data from three main sources:
- The CITES trade database.
- Wildlife import records from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS).
- A web scrape of reptile retailers, analyzing 25,000 webpages in five languages.
Between 2000 and 2019, the study identified nearly 4,000 reptile species in the trade, including many that are endangered, critically endangered, or have limited ranges. For species not protected under CITES or other international measures, trade is entirely legal.
Key findings include:
- Wild-sourced reptiles dominate the trade: About 90% of traded reptile species include individuals taken from the wild, with 55% of traded individuals originating from the wild rather than captivity. For lizards, this figure rises to 75%.
- Rapid commercialization of newly described species: Over 130 species described since 2000 were already in trade, with some appearing in the market the same year they were identified.
“I knew species descriptions were being used to identify potential new pets, but we were astonished to find so many species entering the trade so quickly,” Hughes said.
Expert Reactions
Sandra Altherr, co-founder of ProWildlife, a German animal welfare and species protection group, said the findings were not surprising but highlighted the scale of the issue.
“Nearly 4,000 reptile species in the pet trade is shocking, especially considering most are not covered by CITES. This leaves wild populations vulnerable to unregulated exploitation,” Altherr said.
She also noted that while CITES is a valuable tool for regulating trade in threatened species, its processes are too slow to address the rapid shifts in trade dynamics and the exploitation of non-CITES species.
Proposed Solutions
Hughes and her colleagues are calling for a fundamental change in the CITES regulatory process. Instead of allowing species to be freely traded until they are listed under CITES, they propose creating a list of species that can be legally traded, with all other species being banned from trade.
“As long as we wait for CITES to regulate species after they’ve already been exploited, unsustainable practices will continue,” Hughes said. “We need a system where only species proven to be sustainably sourced—whether from captivity or the wild—are allowed in trade.”
Altherr echoed this sentiment, supporting the idea of requiring proof of sustainability before trade is permitted. She also highlighted the risks faced by newly described species, as field herpetologists often avoid publishing locality data to prevent collectors from targeting these species before protections can be implemented.
Citation
Marshall, B. M., Strine, C., & Hughes, A. C. (2020). Thousands of reptile species threatened by under-regulated global trade. Nature Communications, 11(1). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18523-4
Banner Image Caption: A newly described Cyrtodactylus species from Myanmar that quickly entered the global pet trade. Image by Benjamin Marshall.
Author: Elizabeth Claire Alberts is a staff writer for Mongabay. Follow her on Twitter @ECAlberts.
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