Animals 'disappearing' from the wild as more people seek exotic pets

Yuka Toyama with five-year-old Uno. (Supplied: Yuka Toyama) Ownership of exotic animals as pets is on the rise around the world, with social media a major contributing factor. Demand for exotic pets is leading to an increase in illegal trafficking of species, including from Australia. Conservation groups say the world needs to take a more united approach to reducing illegal pet trafficking. Link copiedShareShare articleUno loves climbing onto his owners' shoulders if he gets tired on a walk. Or if he wants a pat, he has learnt to roll onto his back and snuggle up next to his humans on the sofa. "[He] never fails to make me smile," his owner Yuka Toyama told the ABC. "Uno has become an incredibly special member of our family. But Uno is not your everyday pet; he's a meerkat. Meerkats are wild mongooses native to the deserts of Southern Africa. They are legal to own in Japan where Ms Toyama lives, although not in Australia, partly due to the country's strict biosecurity laws. But the exotic pet industry is coming under increased scrutiny with conservation organisations reporting that millions of animals are being legally and illegally trafficked around the world to meet rising demand. Conservationists say concerns are growing about the number of protected and vulnerable species "disappearing" from the wild to become someone's pet and that social media content is playing a major role in driving the problem. Uno likes going for a walk on a lead in Japan. (Supplied: Yuka Toyama) Seeing videos of pet meerkats on Instagram was what prompted Ms Toyama to buy Uno from a breeder in Japan five years ago. Despite his "human-like quirks", Ms Toyama quickly learnt caring for a pet meerkat was not easy and advice was even harder to find. Uno requires temperature control in Japan's humid summers, refuses to eat commercial pet food, could not be toilet trained like a cat or dog and is wary of children. And if he were not properly supervised and were to bite, the injury could be serious, according to Ms Toyama. When Uno first moved into Ms Toyama's home, he chewed his tail so badly from the stress of being alone in a cage that it had to be amputated. Uno, the meerkat, requires temperature control in Japan's humid summers. (Supplied: Yuka Toyama) His now shorter-than-normal tail is a constant reminder of the challenges of caring for an exotic animal in a domestic environment. "As they grow older, their personalities and behaviours develop, and caring for them requires a great deal of responsibility and commitment." While Ms Toyama loves Uno, she wants others to be aware of the needs and issues of raising such a pet. The exotic pet industry is booming, fuelled by global demand for rare parrots, reptiles and other wild creatures. Ownership of exotic animals has skyrocketed across the world. In China, more than 19 million people now own an exotic pet and most owners are under the age of 35, the 2026 China Pet Industry White Paper produced by pet sector data company Paidu revealed. The International Fund for Animal Welfare said the exotic pet trade was a multi-billion-dollar global industry and involved thousands of species and millions of animals every year. South-East Asia has become a hotspot for the illegal wildlife trade, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The WWF says it is partly driven by the high demand for exotic pets and animals for traditional medicine in more affluent communities and poorer communities willing to participate in the trade to make money. Laure Joanny from international conservation organisation Fauna & Flora said the global exotic pet trade was a "massive concern", including in Australia which had become a "source and demand country". She said the legal and illegal trading of animals was moving at such a pace that regulation was "struggling to keep up". Laure Joanny is Flora & Fauna's senior technical specialist on wildlife trade. (Supplied: Flora & Fauna) "We're seeing a rise in the global demand and movement and buying of exotic pets, especially reptiles, birds, mammals, invertebrates such as scorpions, tarantula and ants but also ornamental fish and coral," said Dr Joanny, who is a senior technical specialist on wildlife trade. She said while it was difficult to have "a full picture" of how big the exotic pet market had become, organisations were monitoring the "staggering growth" of animal trading online and the number of interceptions and seizures by authorities. The UK's Border Force said illegal wildlife smuggling seizures had increased 73 per cent since 2023. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said trafficking and selling of wild animals was also expanding online and across social media. It detected more than 8,500 live animals advertised online between April 2024 and March 2026 with no evidence of permits or documentation. Undercover agents are helping in the fight against wildlife crime. Most of those advertisement

Animals 'disappearing' from the wild as more people seek exotic pets

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Animals 'disappearing' from the wild as more people seek exotic pets

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