Practicum
Statistics
Making Sense of a Murky Industry
Why is hard to get exact numbers on the exotic animal industry?
As discussed in the "What Counts?" section, definitions concerning this industry are loose and often vary by location. Imports to the United States, for example, are reported with categories and codes responding to those specific categories, and there is no category specifically concerning exotic animals intended to be sold as pets. Moreover, many countries that export their native animals into the United States for the pet trade are relatively impoverished and do not report on the value of these animals. However, data exists to help us make sense of smaller pieces of the overall picture.
Value of Animal Imports to the United States
Below are import statistics from 2018. This year was chosen due to the fact that fewer countries reported their data in 2022 and the global economy was heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic between 2019-2021. It's important to note that these numbers constitute minimums in the value of animals imported to the United States in 2018, as significant black market activity exists. This data comes from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Psittaciformes (Parrots)
TOTAL IMPORT VALUE FOUND:
$72.8 million
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TOTAL NUMBER IMPORTED:
292,000 individuals
292,000
MOST RELEVANT COUNTRIES:
Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador
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MORE:
The blue-and-gold macaw is one of the mostly commonly imported macaws.
Primates
TOTAL IMPORT VALUE FOUND:
$28.9 million
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TOTAL NUMBER IMPORTED:
26,789 individuals
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MOST RELEVANT COUNTRIES:
Mauritius, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia
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MORE:
Macaques are the most commonly imported group of primates.
Reptiles
TOTAL IMPORT VALUE FOUND:
$105.5 million
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TOTAL NUMBER IMPORTED:
2,247,375 individuals
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MOST RELEVANT COUNTRIES:
Indonesia, Togo, Benin, Ghana, China
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MORE:
Ball pythons are the most commonly imported reptiles.
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Domestic Breeding
The truth is that most exotic animals in the United States were born in the United States. However, due to the complicated nature of individual state laws, much of the domestic side of the exotic pet industry stays off the books. Therefore, we can only speculate on the true value of exotic pet commerce within the United States.