Animal shelters overflowing with exotics bought online during panemic

It’s not only dog and cat shelters that have seen an influx of abandoned pets since the coronavirus pandemic ended. Reptile shelters and shelters taking care of other exotic animals are also overflowing, the Volkskrant reports.

Reptile shelter Zwanenburg has taken in 122 animals so far this year. In all of 2021, that number stood at 280. And that was already about 100 more than in 2020. Nearly half of the animals that come in are protected species, which can only be legally kept as pets with the correct papers about their origin.

According to Joop Oudhof of Zwanenburg, people often buy turtles, iguanas, snakes, or spiders impulsively. “With a few clicks on a website like Marktplaats, eBay, or social media, anyone can become the owner of any species.” The Netherlands has no central registration for reptiles and no bans on keeping them.

In 2019, Belgium implemented an “approved list” for reptiles, listing which reptiles can be kept as pets. All other species are prohibited. The Netherlands will soon implement such a list for exotic mammals but has nothing in place for reptiles.

According to Frederik Thoelen, a biologist at the Belgian nature relief center Opglabbeek, stricter rules help to reduce the circulation of exotic species. “It is clear to the consumer what is and is not allowed. The exotics that still end up in shelters in Belgium were bought in the Netherlands or Germany,” he told the Volkskrant. ‘That is why it is important to have unambiguous regulations everywhere.”

The online trade in which Netherlands residents buy exotic animals has been growing for 20 years, according to the animal welfare foundation IFAW. Within five minutes, you can find a potentially illegal advertisement for a wild animal online. That is much harder for illegal weapons or drugs, which the government takes steps against, Lionel Hachemin of IFAW said to the newspaper.

IFAW, working with the world wildlife fund WWF, helps tech companies like Google recognize the trade in wildlife on their platforms. They hope that purchasing animals will become more complicated so that people have more time to think about what they‘re doing.