Illegal trade a major threat to Australian lizards: study

2021-07-14 02:05:52 GMT2021-07-14 10:05:52(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

CANBERRA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Endangered Australian lizards are facing serious conservation threats from the illegal exotic pet trade, a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Monitor Conservation Research Society on Tuesday revealed the wide extent of the illegal trade of the native shingleback lizard, which is also known as the bobtail or sleepy lizard.

They found that all four subspecies of shinglebacks including the threatened Rottnest Island Bobtail which is only found on an island off the coast of Western Australia (WA), are being traded across Europe, North America and Asia.

It is illegal to export live native species from Australia but the study found that importing and trading protected species is not restricted in many countries.

"While shinglebacks are a protected species in Australia, and can only be exported legally under a federal permit, there is little to no regulation of international trade once the animals have been smuggled out of the country." Adam Toomes, the author of the report, said in a media release.

"Not only are our findings concerning from a conservation and animal welfare perspective, but they also highlight a major loophole in our legislation which is being exploited."

Researchers estimated that almost 500 shinglebacks were poached for international and domestic trade between 2009 and 2020.

Toomes said that the lifestyle of shingleback lizards made them vulnerable to poaching.

"They don't tend to travel far from where they live and their defences, which include a slow retreat when approached and opening their mouth and sticking their tongue out, are not all that daunting. So they can be easily captured even by unskilled people," he said.

The research team used their findings to call for the shingleback lizard to be listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), giving other countries extra powers to curtail their trade. Enditem

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