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WildCRU analysis on trade in live carnivores and primates

A new analysis of IUCN trade records by WildCRU’s Dr Lauren Harrington reveals that an alarming proportion of carnivores and primates traded live legally are taken from the wild. Frequently traded species, taken predominantly from the wild, included squirrel monkeys, capuchins, fennec foxes and kinkajous – all of which are popular exotic pets. It is likely that the exotic pet trade is a significant driver of this trade (although in many places it is illegal to keep, or breed, these species as pet). The details of the analysis are published in the February issue of Conservation Biology. This is the latest in a series of WildCRU projects on the global wildlife trade, and follows on from an earlier study of global trade in exotic pets by WildCRU’s Dr Sandra Baker, and former student, Emma Bush, published in Conservation Biology in 2014.