Many exotic pets suffer or die in transit, and beyond—and the U.S. government is failing to act Often mailed dozens to a box, animals in the pet trade are subjected to inhumane conditions, experts say. ByRachel Nuwer Email Dead frogs from the Solomon Islands, a remote archipelago in the South Pacific, set the tone for how the United States enforces animal welfare protections. And not for the better, experts say. It was back in 1995, and a wildlife inspector at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport was called to check a shipment of animals that had just arrived. When he opened one of the wooden boxes, the first thing he saw was skinks. The lizards looked healthy enough.