Nature Comment Calls for Closing Legal Loopholes in $2.5 Billion Global Reptile and Amphibian Pet Trade

[ Above photo: Endemic to Colombia, Lehmann's poison frog (Oophaga lehmanni) is rated as Critically Endangered on the Red List of threatened species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The frog is included on the CITES Appendix II list due to the unsustainable tradeof this species. Photo credit: (c)️Jonathan Vanegas/WCS. ]

BRONX, NY, September 14, 2026 - A group of eight international experts writing in the journal Nature call on governments to close legal loopholes that allow an expanding global pet trade in reptiles and amphibians to threaten wild populations, facilitate wildlife trafficking, and increase the risks posed by pathogens and invasive species.