In the last few decades, exotic pets have become much more common. In the UK in 2008, reptiles and amphibians were more popular than dogs, with over eight million in captivity. But while almost all pet cats and dogs are born and bred in captivity, exotic pets are often taken from the wild, putting species and their habitats at risk. An international trade agreement called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) strives to prevent unsustainable animal trade. But to get CITES protection, species depend on data showing that wildlife trade threatens their survival. In addition, their range countries need to first propose them to be listed. For most wild animal species, there are no data on population size or population decline. In the case of amphibians, CITES regulates the trade of just 2.5% of species. This leaves the rest with no protection from overarching international trade regulations. To protect these animals, researchers need to find out which species are in trade, where they are coming from, and how many are already threatened. To address this, Hughes, Marshall and Strine combined data from five sources, including official CITES trade records, recent research and an online search for amphibian sales in six languages. The data showed evidence of trade in at least 1,215 amphibian species, representing 17% of all amphibians. The figure is three times higher than previous estimates. Of the species in trade, more than one in five is vulnerable to extinction, endangered, or critically endangered. For a further 100 of the traded species, data on population were unavailable. Moreover, analysis of the origins of traded individuals showed that around 42% came from the wild. Tropical parts of the world had the highest number of species in trade, but the data showed exchanges happening across the globe. Unsustainable wildlife trade can have devastating consequences for wild animals. It has already driven at least 21 reptile species to extinction, and data of amphibian species are unknown. To prevent further species going extinct, legal wildlife trade should follow the precautionary principle when it comes to wildlife trade. Rather than allowing people to trade a species until CITES regulates it, a blanket ban should come into force for species that have not been assessed or are threatened. Trade would be able to resume for a species only when assessments show that it would not cause major population decline, or secure, captive breeding facilities can be guaranteed.
在过去的几十年里,异国情调的宠物已经变得更加普遍。在2008年的英国,爬行动物和两栖动物比狗更受欢迎,超过八百万人被囚禁.但是,尽管几乎所有的宠物猫和宠物狗都是在圈养下出生和繁殖的,异国情调的宠物通常来自野外,将物种及其栖息地置于危险之中。一项名为《濒危物种国际贸易公约》(CITES)的国际贸易协定旨在防止不可持续的动物贸易。但是为了获得CITES保护,物种依赖于数据显示野生动物贸易威胁着它们的生存。此外,他们的范围国家需要首先提出他们被列入名单。对于大多数野生动物物种来说,没有关于人口规模或人口减少的数据。在两栖动物的情况下,CITES仅监管2.5%的物种贸易。这使得其余的国家没有受到总体国际贸易法规的保护。为了保护这些动物,研究人员需要找出哪些物种在贸易中,他们来自哪里,有多少人已经受到威胁。为了解决这个问题,休斯,马歇尔和斯特林结合了五个来源的数据,包括官方CITES交易记录,最近的研究和在线搜索六种语言的两栖动物销售。数据显示了至少1,215种两栖动物的贸易证据,占所有两栖动物的17%。这个数字比以前的估计高出三倍。在贸易中的物种中,超过五分之一的人容易灭绝,濒临灭绝,或极度濒危。对于另外100个交易物种,人口数据不可用.此外,对交易个体起源的分析表明,大约42%来自野外。世界上热带地区的贸易物种数量最多,但是数据显示全球各地都在进行交流。不可持续的野生动物贸易可能对野生动物造成毁灭性后果。它已经导致至少21种爬行动物灭绝,两栖动物物种的数据未知。为了防止更多的物种灭绝,合法的野生动植物贸易应遵循预防原则。而不是允许人们交易一个物种,直到TES管理它,对于尚未评估或受到威胁的物种,全面禁止应生效。只有当评估表明该物种不会导致主要种群减少时,该物种的贸易才能恢复,或安全,圈养繁殖设施可以保证。