The global pet trade involves billions of animals annually. Wild capture, poor transport conditions, and inadequate buyer knowledge cause widespread suffering.
The pet trade causes suffering at multiple points. Wild capture involves traumatic handling, high transport mortality, and removal from natural social groups. Breeding facilities for companion animals frequently prioritise volume over welfare. Transport conditions cause stress, injury, and mortality. Impulse buying of animals by uninformed owners leads to inadequate care. Abandonment of animals that are no longer wanted - reptiles, parrots, rabbits - is a significant welfare problem downstream of the trade. Regulation is improving but unevenly applied globally.