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LONDON, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ Over a hundred thousand wild animals including crocodiles, monkeys, sugar gliders (small mammals) and Gila monsters (venomous lizards) are being legally sold in pet shops across the UK despite being unsuitable pets, according to a new report from global animal welfare charity, World Animal Protection.
The study used data obtained via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to UK local authorities, on licences to sell animals as pets in the UK. It found nearly 2000 pet traders licensed by 283 different councils had permission to sell shockingly high numbers of wild (i.e., non-domesticated) species, otherwise known as exotic pets.