naturalpet


Forbidden Creatures Author Peter Laufer On the Dark Side of “Owning” Exotic Pets


by Gail Condrick


The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.


~Michael Pollan


P


eter Laufer, Ph.D., is the James Wallace Chair in Journal-


ism at the University of Oregon School of Journal- ism and Communications, a broadcaster and the author of 12 books. His latest, Forbidden Creatures, exposes the illegal network of hunt- ers, traders, breeders and customers who are negatively impacting the lives of exotic animals, humans and the environment.


In Forbidden Creatures, as you explored people’s fascina- tion with collecting exotic and forbidden animals, what


did you find? Many of us like to think that humans are the ultimate animal, and that we can tame the rest of nature. My research for the book introduced me to an engaging cast of characters, many of who fantasized not just about communing with exotic beasts, but controlling them. Such dreams can dis- solve into nightmares in seconds and without warning.


Exotic animals are collected and owned by celebrities, criminals and your neighbors. In fact, there are more captive-bred tigers in private homes in Texas than in the wild in India. I found


22 SeattleAwakenings.com


a tiger in the back of a feed store in Idaho, a colony of chimpanzees in the countryside south of St. Louis and laundry bags full of pythons at a


former missile base in the Everglades. There are legal auctions of exotic animals from aardvarks to zebras in Missouri, and sales of black market chimps on the Internet.


You have stated that illegal trading of wild and protected animals is growing exponen-


tially; how profitable is this? Wild animal trafficking profits are estimated by Interpol to be $10 billion to $20 billion a year. It’s the third most lucrative illegal business in the world, trailing only drugs and weapons smug- gling. It is easy to accomplish, the risks of capture are slim and penalties are minimal. Many amateurs also bring in animals for their own plea- sure, based on their personal fascination for the exotic. Legal trade


in endangered animals also


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