Don’t Pet Me!
Born Free is calling for greater regulation of wild animals kept as pets in Scotland.
At an event in the Scottish Parliament on 1st May, Born Free, alongside Scottish charities OneKind and the Scottish SPCA, launched their joint ‘Don’t Pet Me’ campaign highlighting the suffering of wild animals kept as pets (‘exotic pets’) in home environments across Scotland.
The campaign is calling on the Scottish Government to introduce tighter regulations around the trade in and keeping of wild animals as pets, leading the way within the UK.
The campaign launch was accompanied by the release of a shocking, collaborative report, titled ‘Don’t Pet Me – The scale, scope and motivations for keeping wild animals as ‘pets’ in Scotland.’
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The report details investigations carried out by the charities into the sale of wild animals online and in pet shops, as well as research by the University of Exeter into the motivations and behaviours of those keeping wild animals in home environments.
It highlights that wild animals kept as pets are commonly treated as commodities that are used, bought and sold, and emphasises that it is far too easy for anyone to legally purchase almost any wild animal as a pet, despite the inherent challenges involved with keeping them.
As a result, many animals experience compromised welfare and suffering. The report includes real examples of animals that the Scottish SPCA has taken into their care in recent times, such as a marmoset who became addicted to eating marshmallows and now needs to be weaned back onto an appropriate diet.
Sixteen weeks of online monitoring detected more than 4,600 wild animals from over 300 species advertised for sale in Scotland for a total price exceeding £440,000. Adverts were detected in almost every Scottish council area. More than 500 of the advertised animals belong to species classified as threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Following decades of effort by Born Free, OneKind and the Scottish SPCA to raise awareness of the plight of wild animals kept as pets, the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) produced a report for the Scottish government in 2022, highlighting the extent of the trade in and private keeping of wild animals as pets in Scotland, and the lack of regulatory oversight.
The SAWC recommended the development and introduction of a single list of species that may legally be kept as pets in Scotland. Such lists are commonly referred to as permitted or positive lists and have already been established in a number of European countries. However, the Scottish Government is yet to respond to the recommendations of the SAWC.
Research commissioned in 2022 by Born Free revealed that 83% of those surveyed believed the next UK Government should tighten the rules on the trade in and keeping of wild animals as pets, including 84% of Scots.
Born Free’s Captivity Research and Policy Manager, Chris Lewis said: “The number and variety of wild animals for sale in Scotland, and the lack of regulatory oversight, should be a major cause for concern for the Scottish Government, legislators and the wider public. However, the data included in this latest report may only be the tip of the iceberg. Current legislation is unable to keep up with ever changing trends and demands for wild animals as pets and fails to protect the animals sadly caught up in this trade.
“In the lead up to the next Scottish election, Born Free is calling on all political parties in Scotland to commit to comprehensive revisions of the trade in and keeping of wild animals as pets.”
Born Free, along with OneKind and the Scottish SPCA are calling on the Scottish Government to introduce a permitted list that includes only species whose needs can be met in a home environment, as well as accompanying measures that would help ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of such an approach.
These include better regulation of pet sales, officially recognised care standards, animal welfare education and demand reduction strategies, and a total ban on the import of wild-caught animals.