Exotic pets sold online create serious animal welfare fears
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Pet charity Blue Cross and the Born Free Foundation are calling for a Government review of the exotic pet trade after conducting an online survey of six websites.
They discovered during a spot check in September there were 25,000 adverts offering more than 120 types of exotic animal for sale.
What particularly worries animal campaigners are the way adverts have been offering animals in “poor health” or with a history of aggression.
Equally, very few adverts offered advice on the animals’ history or how to care for them.
After publishing the One Click Away report, the two charities say they are concerned both for the health and welfare of the animals as well public safety because there is little or no regulation over online sales.
They are demanding the laws surrounding the sales of exotic pets brought up to date after discovering such areas of concern as:
- Adverts not identifying species properly. Of 347 adverts for lizards, 38 per cent did not identify a particular species.
- One advert for 18 royal pythons described them as “in need of a quick sale”.
- Animals advertised in “poor health” or offered as swaps.
- Adverts for wild felines, including ocelots, serval, caracal and leopard cats.
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