GoKawiilOne in five reptile species and two in five amphibian species are threatened with extinction1,2, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In Central America, for instance, numbers of variable harlequin frogs (Atelopus varius) have fallen by more than 80% since the 1980s. In the Seychelles, the population of giant bronze geckos (Ailuronyx trachygaster) has dropped to an estimated few thousand individuals, with the species occupying an area of less than 10 square kilometres. Habitat loss, invasive species, disease and climate change are mainly to blame. But another factor is on the rise and must be tackled urgently: the global pet trade.
‘Exotic’ wild animals are becoming ever more desired as pets. This trade — parts of which are legal, parts illegal — harms many animals but is having a disproportionate impact on reptiles and amphibians. These animals typically attract less funding and attention for conservation3 and research4 than do ‘charismatic’ birds and mammals, and are less effectively protected by laws and regulations1,5. Many are silent in transit, easy to hide in parcels. Some can fetch thousands of dollars. And illegally traded species can be difficult to distinguish from those traded legally6.
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From a niche business in the 1990s, the global reptile and amphibian pet industry has ballooned. The trade in reptiles alone is worth US$2.5 billion today, with millions of reptiles and amphibians imported into North America and Europe from around the world each year7,8. Species such as the ball python (Python regius) and the common leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) are now commonly sold in pet shops, marketed as requiring little space and care and serving as the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of rare species by some hobbyists. Influencers promote reptiles and amphibians as cool pets on social media.
But more than 50% of reptiles and 40% of amphibians that are traded as pets and for other purposes have been taken directly from the wild9,10. This practice harms wild populations. The ploughshare tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) in Madagascar is one of the world’s most endangered tortoises, mainly because of poaching for the pet trade.
Imported animals can also cause problems at their final destination. Some carry undetected pathogens. The salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans), for example, has caused mass die-offs of native fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) in western Europe after being introduced through the pet trade11. And animals that escape can wreak havoc — Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus), for instance, are associated with declines in bobcat, raccoon and opossum populations in the United States12.
What’s more, poor welfare is common. Snakes are often kept in small drawers that prevent climbing, burrowing and other natural behaviours. These conditions are associated with behavioural abnormalities, chronic stress and altered brain development13.
A variable harlequin frog (Atelopus varius) in Costa Rica.Credit: Anton Sorokin/Nature Picture Library
Legal gaps enable the unsustainable trade in these species. National policies are typically reactive, with species able to be traded legally — often with no restrictions — until evidence builds that doing so harms wild populations. There is little consistency between countries, making it hard to monitor the legal trade and combat illegal trade across borders.
Yet, this year, there are unprecedented opportunities for reform. A forthcoming independent analysis will reveal how the European Union can help to stymy harmful imports of reptiles and amphibians, complementing a 2025 report for the European Commission (EC) on options for criminalizing the illegal trade in wildlife (see go.nature.com/4cskhc1). And in October, a United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) meeting in Vienna will provide a crucial opportunity to strengthen the international response to wildlife trafficking.
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