
The exotic pet trade has been a recurring focus of my advocacy because the consequences reach far beyond the question of whether a wild animal can be kept in a home. From primates and servals to reptiles, birds and other non-domesticated species, private ownership raises important questions about animal welfare, public safety, disease, conservation, trafficking and the messages we send about our relationship with wildlife. This section follows those connections—from animals advertised online and displayed in public places to breeders, dealers, exhibitors and the laws intended to regulate them. Through documented cases, scientific evidence and regulatory records, the goal is to better understand how wild animals enter the pet trade, what happens after they do, and why keeping wildlife wild matters.
Posted September 2026
>Lions, Tigers, and Bobcats Do Not Make Good Pets
When The Worlds Largest Pedigreed-Cat Registry Says Wild Cats Aren't Pets, It's Worth Listening
(Part 1 of 3)
>The Pet Trade Puts Reptiles And Amphibians
At Risk: Close Legal Gaps Now
>California Said No To Pet Primates
>When A Kangaroo Hops Down A Kansas Road:
An unusual escape raises a much bigger question: Why can so many wild animals become pets in America?
Posted August 2026
>What's a Kinkajou Doing at a Texas Strip Mall?
North Richland Hills Officers Rescue Exotic Pet
>When Science Can Create a "Unicorn" Pet, Should It?
California’s Unusual Attempt to Prevent an Animal-Welfare Problem Before It Begins.
>Madagascar or Belton, Texas?
Police detain a lemur on the loose”
The Bigger Question Is Why It Was There?
>Wild By Nature: Pet By Choice
Who Pays the Price When It Escapes?
An Escaped Serval Raises a Bigger Question
>Animal Club Exotics in Ocala, Florida
When "Pet Monkey" Marketing Meets Regulatory Reality.
What USDA documented at an exotic-primate breeding facility
>America’s Exotic Pet Problem:
Shopping Experience: Tennessee Exotic Pet Expo
>The Ripple Effects of the Exotic Pet Trade
>America's Exotic Pet Problem
When Did This Become Normal?
>The Exotic Pet Trade – An Unnecessary
Luxury In Need Of Regulation
Posted July 2026
Michigan influencer talks life with squirrel monkeys”
>Is it Ethical to Keep Exotic Animals as Pets?
>American's Exotic Animal Problem:
Why Zip Codes Shouldn't Determine Public Safety.
A serval in a shopping aisle. A lemur at checkout.
