Exotic Pets in China Film – 250K Views on National Geographic YouTube Channel

Last summer (2017) I produced this short film for National Geographic, with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, about the rise in exotic pet ownership in China. It’s a subject that is little covered but is crucial to understand, as the industry plays a significant role in the global trade in wildlife.

Lear more about this issue through the above video and accompanying images and text below:

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Beijing, China – 2017

It is estimated that up to one million people own exotic pets in China.

These pets are defined as non-traditional ones, such as snakes, monkeys, crocodiles, spiders, and tropical birds that are sourced from threatened ecosystems across the world, mainly to be displayed in the homes of China’s expanding and more affluent middle classes.

As this sector of society continues to grow, the rise in pet ownership has risen sharply and many young Chinese are now turning to exotic pet ownership as a way to display their individuality and wealth.

The trade in these animals has been directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, as well as contributing to a rapid rise in invasive species.

The global illegal wildlife trade is estimated to generate hundred of millions of dollars annually, although exact figures are hard to come by.

What is known is that the trafficking of animals is seeing a global spike in occurrence, leading to many species becoming increasingly threatened and significantly contributing to the current worldwide biodiversity extinction crisis.

Due to the scale of exotic pet ownership in China, it is a significant environmental issue as more affluent consumers turn to these types of animals as pets, fuelling the destruction and damage to ecosystems across the world.