Does the global trade in pets such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and fish, favor species that make good invasive species, or do they become invasive because they are in the global pet trade? International trade in species have been increasing in recent years. Invasive species from the global trade have wide ranging harmful impacts on native flora and fauna, including on human health and economies. Despite the implications, addressing the question has not been easily done with a lack of data until an extensive meta-analysis by Gippet and Bertelsmeier (2021). Using an emergent global trade in ants as pets, they showed that there is an overrepresentation of species in the pet trade with the ecological traits linked to invasiveness, and thus global trade not only facilitates invasions, but that the pet trade favors specifically invasive species. The authors advocate for banning, or minimally, acknowledgement of the risk with the international trade of wildlife species for pet or other purposes.
