Meerkats, snakes, iguanas or ferrets are increasingly chosen as pets in Italy too, but what is hidden behind this new passion perpetually in search of the “rarest” specimen? An investigation by two very young journalists reveals the behind the scenes of a billion-dollar and very dangerous business.
The image of a brightly colored macaw peeping out from a gilded cage in a Milanese living room, a royal python curled around its owner’s neck in a Roman apartment, a ferret playing in a Florentine garden: increasingly common, which testify to the growing passion for unconventional pets. But behind this trend There lies a complex and often disturbing world.
The investigation lands on RayPlay “Exotic out of place” (you can see it here), winner of the Riccardo Laganà Award, created by Caterina Tarquini And Francesca Sapiotwo young journalists who investigated the phenomenon, shining a spotlight on the exotic pet tradea millionaire – or rather, billionaire – business that feeds on exploitation, illegality and indifference. From capture in natural environments to transportation in inhumane conditions, from illegal online sales to regulatory gaps, this valuable journalistic work reveals the shadows of a market that puts animal welfare and public health at risk.
A growing business
The charm of owning an exotic animal has fueled a business that is rapidly growing in Italy too. “Reptiles and fish require less attention than other animals. Snakes, for example, eat once a week. They don’t want interactions as they are not pets,” he tells the two journalists Roberto Rongioneowner of an exotic pet shop, in the investigation.
“When you have a reptile at home, you don’t have a pet. What you are looking for is a little piece of the natural world in your living room“, explains Matteo Oliveriveterinarian expert in reptiles and amphibians.
AND Paolo Selleria veterinarian expert in exotic animals, adds: “Some types of snakes can cost up to 100 thousand euros. If you reproduce them, you get a lot of money.” But Selleri also tells another side of this business, based on animal suffering and entirely human neglect: “Once it happened to me that a person came in with a lemur that had grown up inside the house. Due to lack of exposure to UV rays he suffered from ricketswhich did not allow him to stand.”
Hamm: the great reptile market
Tarquini and Sapio’s investigation takes us up to Hammin Germany, where Europe’s largest reptile market is held twice a year. An event that attracts enthusiasts and traders from all over the continent, ready to sell or buy species prohibited in Italy.
The images shot in Hamm show a crowded and chaotic market, with animals crowded into boxes and small terrariums. Many specimens appear stressed, injured or ill. A situation that raises serious concerns about animal welfare and risks to public health.
CITES: the convention that is not enough
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) regulates the trade in exotic species at an international level. which protects over 38 thousand animal and plant species. In Italy, the CITES police take care of the certificates necessary to keep animals. Every year, 70 thousand are released. It is not unusual, however, for these certificates to be counterfeited or recycled.
It is no coincidence that the illegal trafficking of flora and fauna is one of the most profitable trades on a global level: a turnover, the two journalists point out, which is worth over 20 billion dollars a year.
Zoonoses: the invisible threat
As he explains David QuammenAmerican essayist and science communicator: “Wild animals carry viruses, some of which are capable of infecting humans.”
The spread of zoonoses, diseases transmissible from animals to humans, it is a major threat to public health globally. And the exotic pet trade, with its cargo of wild-caught wildlife, represents a significant risk factor.
The intent of the new legislation on trade and possession of exotic species is precisely to prevent the onset of outbreaks of zoonoses. However, two years after the entry into force of Legislative Decree 135 of 5 August 2022, the implementing decrees and above all the new “negative list”, which should have been issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, together with the Ministry of Health, have not yet seen the light. This important list concerns the ban on the detention and reproduction of animals of the species which, even if born in captivity, are to be considered dangerous from a health point of view, of safety and biological.
Quammen, in the interview, it also underlines the inertia of politics in the face of this problem: “Governments do not want to give power to the World Health Organization because it challenges their sovereignty. Governments do not want to do what is necessary because it is politically unpopular with some of the citizens.”
Get informed, raise awareness, act: these are the verbs that must guide our commitment to a more sustainable and equitable future, where coexistence between man and nature is based on respect and understanding.
