Wild Animals as ‘Pets’ Threaten the Environment and Public Health

Dogs and domestic cats may be the most conventional and numerous companion animals, or ‘pets’, but  wild animals, such as monkeys, snakes, lizards and meerkats, are increasingly in demand around homes in Europe.  Wild in nature and often unpredictable, these animals are not only potentially dangerous to people, able to inflict severe physical injury, and transmit harmful diseases, but they suffer.  Requiring specialised care and specific living conditions, many wild pets become too much to handle and are simply abandoned, causing serious problems for the local environment and native species and can cost billions of Euros to be removed.

For Wild Futures, the charity that aims to protect primates and habitats worldwide, this is all too a familiar experience.  Wild Futures runs a rescue and rehabilitation centre in Cornwall for monkeys, many ex-pets from the UK.  The majority of the monkeys end up at its sanctuary suffering from severe psychological and physiological problems due to being neglected and isolated as pets.  Take Joey for example, a black capped capuchin flown from South America to the UK and locked in a tiny cage for 9 years.  Due to his time as a pet, he now suffers from a misshapen pelvis, curved spine, poorly formed teeth and will always be severely disabled. Then take Josh – another capuchin monkey.   Josh was denied a life with his own kind and as he grew up became increasingly frustrated.  He eventually attacked and bit his owner very badly.  Josh was removed from his owners by police.  Both monkeys now reside, along with 35 others at The Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary.

A new report, ‘Wild Pets in the European Union’, launched yesterday at the European Parliament provides an insight into the legal and illegal trade in and keeping of wild animals in European households. It provides evidence that these animals pose a threat to their often inexperienced keepers, other animals, indigenous species and the natural environment.

Daniel Turner, co-author of the report and spokesperson for ENDCAP, the coalition of NGOs behind its publication, explains. “The trade not only threatens biodiversity and the local ecology but, many experts agree, represents an increasing risk to the health and welfare of European citizens. Animals, particularly those caught from the wild, may carry harmful pathogens that are potentially infectious to humans. Such diseases are called zoonoses. More than 60% of all human infectious diseases and up to 75% of emerging diseases may be traced to wild animals.” Turner continued; “Well-known examples include avian influenza and psittacosis from birds; salmonellosis from amphibians, reptiles and birds; and hepatitis A, tuberculosis, monkey pox and herpesvirus simiae-B from primates.”

Fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and captive-bred birds are all imported into the EU and traded between EU countries, and are commonly kept as ‘pets’ by members of the public. While the majority are traded legally, 25% are thought to be imported illegally, with the majority likely to be captured from the wild. Annual records indicate that legal imports include approximately 1.5 billion ornamental fish; 10 million live reptiles; millions of captive-bred birds and small mammals (such as prairie dogs and meerkats); and increasing numbers of non-human primates, although the majority of these end up in medical research rather than as pets.

The EU’s multi-billion Euro exotic pet industry is one of the largest international markets for wild animals, with outlets including pet shops, garden centres, street markets, via newspaper advertisements and, increasingly, online via the internet.

Will Travers OBE, CEO of the Born Free Foundation and President of the Species Survival Network, expressed his concerns about the loss of biodiversity which the capture of and trade in wild animals causes: “Harvesting methods used to collect the animals can result in serious disturbance to habitats, displacement, injury and death. For example, an estimated 90% of wild reptiles captured for the pet trade die before the end of their first year in captivity.” Travers continued; “Furthermore, the accidental or deliberate release of wild pets can lead to the establishment of invasive alien species, which can disrupt ecosystems and displace local fauna. The EU reportedly spends over €12 billion annually on controlling invasive alien species.  Of over 5,000 respondents to an EU Commission survey on Invasive Alien Species (which ended in April 2012), more than 80% indicated they wanted greater restrictions on the sale of exotic species of animals and plants.”

Wild Futures is a member of ENDCAP and this week Rachel Hevesi, Director of Wild Futures has been talking to Members of the European Parliament on its campaign to end the trade in primates as pets.  At the launch of the ENDCAP report, Rachel spoke at a crowded seminar and then took questions, as part of an expert panel, from MEP’s and the deputy head of Unit Biodiversity in the European Commission who then asked for copies of the presentations to show her colleagues.   A conference follows the launch, which will give further opportunity to discuss the serious welfare and conservation issues of the primate pet trade.

ENDCAP is making the following recommendations:

1. The European Community (both the Commission and Member States) urgently review the impacts caused by the ongoing trade in wild pets in relation to biodiversity, alien species, public safety and animal welfare;
2. Appropriate and immediate action be taken to harmonise animal protection regulations across the EU;
3. Import controls be extended to include certification that the capture, storage and shipping of wild animals does not result in animal suffering as a result of injuries and mortality;
4. Additional measures be adopted to guarantee appropriate minimum captive wild animal welfare standards;
5. The introduction of measures to exclude wild-caught animals from the pet trade;
6. Provisions to ensure that all risks to animal and human health and safety are minimised;
7. Serious consideration be given to the introduction of a ban on all the import of all wild animals as ‘pets’.