Disposable wild chameleons?

[kinyonga]

"The two main threats to chameleons in Madagascar are habitat loss and … the international pet trade,” said Christopher Anderson, a herpetologist at the University of South Dakota who chairs the IUCN’s Chameleon Specialist Group. In a country regularly listed among the poorest and most corrupt in the world, some people are willing to risk arrest, breaking international and national laws, to illegally harvest chameleons to supply this trade."...

"Commerce was both legal, as shown by CITES data, and illegal, according to Petr Necas, an independent chameleon researcher, breeder and former seller currently based in Tanzania who has been studying the trade for more than 30 years. Necas is listed as the scientific supervisor for Bion Terrarium Center, a breeder and international dealer of reptiles based in Kyiv, Ukraine."...

https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/pet-trade-relies-on-disposable-wild-chameleons-from-madagascar/

 

[CasqueAbove]

This is an issue with many herps. In poor countries it is poorly regulated. I remember years ago reading about them putting in banned species with a common one. Most just see snakes or lizards and don't know the difference. Plus it is hard to blame the poor collector who likely knows little and gets paid a few bucks per cham he brings in.

 

[kinyonga]

https://www.newindianexpress.com/st...g-pushes-chameleon-to-extinction-1764452.html

@CasqueAbove said..." I remember years ago reading about them putting in banned species with a common one"...I remember that too.