09/15/2026
Experts are calling for new protections for reptiles and amphibians worldwide 🐢🐸
Eight international experts writing in Nature say loopholes in wildlife trade laws can allow reptiles and amphibians taken illegally or unsustainably in one country to be sold legally elsewhere.
More than half of reptiles and 40% of amphibians traded as pets and for other purposes are taken directly from the wild. Yet the international CITES treaty currently covers only 9.5% of reptile species and 4.2% of amphibian species. The experts are calling for stronger rules to ensure animals entering the global pet trade are legally and sustainably sourced — before wild populations are put at risk.
