Most exotic animals seen on the pet trade

Just saw a Ruppell's Fox for sale.

 

I've seen zebra sharks for sale.

 

Zebra sharks are actually rather easy to get! They regularly show up on fish lists from exporters in Indonesia, however they get huge for the average private fish keeper, and shipping is also extremely expensive on them if it's anything other than the youngest of pups, so fortunately they are not frequently brought in.

 

I've seen Zebra Shark offered before. At least the company that had it offered up for sale stated proof of a very large aquarium was needed before they would confirm the sale.

Also seen Blacktip Reef and Nurse sharks up for sale.

 

It blows me away you can go online and buy a McCords box turtle

 

2017 and earlier this year I came across Iranian spider-tailed horned vipers (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides) offered on the European exotic pet market.

 

One of my dreamed species! It will end at WdG?

 

Exactly. And even though I would really, really love to keep and showcase this highly interesting species, I will not buy illegal specimens.

 

Any more information or sources? Ive been looking around for information on their establishment in the reptile trade but no luck thus far. Im not promoting their capture by any means, but if a sustainable population can be created that would be the best case scenario. Especially considering the volatility of Iran smuggling is probably inevitable, the sooner it can be replace with CB animals the better.

 

Are there species sold on the pet trade that are uncommon or absent from zoos? The aforementioned Rüppel's fox is only kept in one park in Spain, to my knowledge. Also, would a reputable and accredited zoo acquire animals from such dealers?

 

There are plenty I think. By the way, many exotic freshwater fishes are easy to find in pet shops, but many are difficult to find in zoos - mostly because they are not "big showy animals". I myself kept various species bought in pet shops that Zootierliste list for only a few European zoos - for example Yunnanilus cruciatus listed for only one zoo.
Tetrapods are not exent of that too, tough in a lesser exent than fishes. For example Monodelphis domestica is a species that circulates (or circulated?) relatively often in pet trade but very rare in zoos.

I don't think that "reputable and accredited" zoos acquire species from the pet trade instead exchanging with other zoos or via unreleasable wild animals/custom confiscations/etc. But I don't have knowledge of the matter and I suppose that always one or another animal can be acquired this way for any kind of zoo.

 

None of these animals are "uncommon" or "strange" as they are native species in Brazil , nevertheless , they are unusual and unsuitable choices for pets and tragically they turn up in the pet trade a lot and therefore ultimately end up being rescued by police and filling zoos.

Grison kits are frequently caught , sold , and kept as pets and called "furão" ("ferrets") by people. The problem is that though they may similar to a domestic ferret (behaviorally) early on they soon become totally unmanageable as they mature and end up scent marking, needing large spaces to roam , biting and clawing , killing livestock like poultry and chewing things to pieces. The end result is that they end up being "donated" in high frequencies to zoos where they don't really do very well either and end up with stereotypical behaviour.

Lots of different parrots , parakeets and macaws commonly end up in the illegal pet trade many of which are endangered or even critically endangered species. But the species most frequently traded and sought after is the turqouise fronted amazon parrot ( or "ajuruetê" in Portuguese) because of its higher vocal / mimicry abilities which has caused a massive decline of this bird across areas of Brazil. These often end up being confiscated in raids by the police and brought to zoos.

There is also some trade of reptiles and particularly tortoises ( red footed or yellow footed "jabuti-tinga") or snakes. These are mainly boa constrictors but also can be venemous snakes even including the critically endangered golden lance head viper which is caught and trafficked from Ilha da Queimada Grande for the illegal pet trade and biopiracy. Again these often end up confiscated in raids by police and taken to zoos.

Some primates particularly marmosets and capuchins and howler monkeys end up in the illegal pet trade and again get confiscated in raids and brought to zoos , though I know that this kind of police action is mainly directed at poorer city dwellers and seldom happens with rich families who often are the ones who keep them and drive the trade. Very hard to rehabilitate these animals and once again it is a constant job that zoos have to undertake.

 

"Eminently suitable" ? In what sense? as pets?

I couldn't disagree with you more. None of those animals you have listed are at all suitable to be kept as a pet (unless that person has an exceptional grasp of their complex and challenging requirements and even then very decent zoos don't often get it right).

The problem is that when they are trafficked and traded as pets (kinkajou and grisons more so , tayra far less commonly ) even if it is in first world countries and legally it ultimately (through the uploading of social media videos and celebrity pet keeping a la Paris Hilton's pet kinkajou) ends up influencing and driving a thriving illegal trade in wild animals within South American societies.

The consequence of this is it ultimately ends up reducing populations of these mammals in the wild with knock on ecological impacts and also leads to zoos in South and Central America being overburdened with rescued ones (they are statistically some of the most common rescued wild animals that end up in zoos).

 

Dozens of species of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles and several small mammals (in particular rodents) that are absent or hardly ever kept in zoos can be found in the exotic pet trade.
The discussion whether established zoos obtain animals from the exotic pet trade (they do) has been led in several threads.

 

A lot of small to mid size carnivores are popular in the pet trade but rarely seen in zoos (in the US, at least). Civets and genets, tayra, grison, even some mongoose and weasel species.

 

I've seen Egyptian mongoose, marbled polecat, caracal, wolf even giraffe for private sale

 

I would hate to see some of these become invasive. With mongoose they are already a gigantic ecological problem in the Caribbean Antilles and Hawaii.

 

Mongoose somewhat surprises me, as imports are strictly forbidden. What species?

 

They were outside the US.