Exotic pets swarming into China bring risks

Exotic insects are becoming chic pets for young Chinese as e-commerce allows for easier imports, but quarantine personnel see more risks than fun in the trend. An official with the Customs of Nanning in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region told Xinhua that earlier this month, they spotted an international parcel containing 50 giant German ants kept separately in test tubes. It was the second time ants were found in overseas parcels in Nanning. An initial investigation found that the ants were all purchased as pets for domestic buyers, most of whom are young people, said the official. About one centimeter long, the ants delivered via regular mail from Germany were still alive after nearly two months on the road. Under Chinese regulations, the ants are not allowed to be imported because they multiply quickly and are detrimental to the local ecological chain and farming, according to sources with the local quarantine authority. Customs officials said that the receiver of the parcel is a local in Nanning who runs an online pet shop. Thousands of exotic pets, including frogs and lizards, as well as their food, such as cockroach larvae, can be purchased on Taobao.com, China's leading online shopping platform. Prices for the pets range from about ten yuan (about 1.65 U.S. dollars) to more than 400 yuan. A retailer who sells "Chilean rose" spiders on Taobao said on condition of anonymity that although the spiders originated in Chile, they have been bred on a large scale in China. The distinctive pets are favored for good reason. Li Jian, a resident in Nanning who used to raise various exotic pets, said that pet bugs are increasingly popular with young people because they don't require cleaning, can feed themselves and don't have to be taken to pet hospitals. "In addition, young people feel that these special pets are unique, making them distinctive among their peers who keep regular pets like cats and dogs," Li said. Though keeping exotic insects as pets has become a new fad, quarantine and customs officials frown upon the trend. Zhang Xiao, deputy director of the animal and plant quarantine service with the Guangxi Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, said that the imported pets could seriously damage biodiversity in the country. "Without predators, many of these species could possibly reproduce on a large scale, threatening local species and causing damage to humans and domestic animals," Zhang saidZheng Yaka, deputy director of the Nanning Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, said that among confiscated imports in 2013, 52 were living animals believed to pose health hazards or threats to the environment, the highest number in recent years. China's laws are very strict on imports of foreign species. Still, it can be difficult to tackle the imported exotics as efforts involve many departments, which have very limited cooperation on the problem, according to Peng Shaolin, director of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at Sun Yat-Sen University. "It will take the joint efforts of various departments to battle the possible invasion of foreign species," Peng said. Peng added that a comprehensive mechanism should be put in place to tackle the problem.