Behind closed doors – how the normalisation of wild pets is putting thousands of species in peril

Cute, cuddly, and clickable – a wild animal in a home or on our social media feed may look harmless. But what we don’t see is the habitat it was taken from, the animals that didn’t survive, or the miserable life that many animals spend in captive breeding facilities.

Behind Closed Doors, new research from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) shows how social media and the UK’s patchy legislation are exacerbating the wild pet trade. Social media and celebrity influence were seen as drivers for wild pet ownership by 29% of wild pet owners surveyed. And while 86% of owners acknowledge that some species require licences, 84% of those who know their pet needs a licence do not actually possess one.

Licensing figures for 2023 indicate 400 venomous snakes kept by private owners in the UK – 10 times more than the number of snakes kept in UK zoos.

The research also highlighted that most owners were highly concerned about animals being stripped out of the wild to fuel the pet trade. However, complex UK legal loopholes and the various ‘laundering’ activities by unscrupulous traders allowing animals, that are protected in their own countries, to be sold here, makes this challenging.

Behind Closed Doors spells out the clear need for legislative change, and for accurate, appropriately categorised data and testing systems to identify wildlife trafficking. It also details how UK wild animal pet owners themselves are keen for legislation and a ‘Positive List’ system of pet ownership to protect wild animals and their environments from harm.