Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists
The trading and keeping of exotic pets are associated with animal welfare, conservation, environmental protection, agricultural animal health, and public health concerns and present serious regulatory challenges to legislators and enforcers. Most legislation concerning exotic pet trading and keeping...
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2020-12-01
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doaj-0aed46db55d14dc0aa02f65bd62b92e32020-12-11T00:04:56ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-12-01102371237110.3390/ani10122371Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive ListsElaine Toland0Monica Bando1Michèle Hamers2Vanessa Cadenas3Rob Laidlaw4Albert Martínez-Silvestre5Paul van der Wielen6Animal Protection Agency Foundation, Werks Central, 15–17 Middle Street, Brighton BN1 1AL, UKPETA Foundation, 501 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510, USAWorld Animal Protection, 90 Eglinton Ave East, Suite 960, Toronto, ON M4P 2Y3, CanadaAnimal Protection, Biodiversity and Natural Environment Section, Government of Catalonia, 43004 Tarragona, SpainZoocheck, 788 1/2 O’Connor Drive, Toronto, ON M4B 2S6, CanadaCRARC (Catalonian Reptiles and Amphibians Rescue Centre), 08783 Barcelona, SpainAAP Animal Advocacy and Protection, Kemphaanpad 1, 1358 AC Almere, The NetherlandsThe trading and keeping of exotic pets are associated with animal welfare, conservation, environmental protection, agricultural animal health, and public health concerns and present serious regulatory challenges to legislators and enforcers. Most legislation concerning exotic pet trading and keeping involves restricting or banning problematic species, a practice known as “negative listing”. However, an alternative approach adopted by some governments permits only the keeping of animals that meet certain scientifically proven criteria as suitable in respect of species, environmental, and public health and safety protections. We conducted an evaluation of positive lists for the regulation of pet trading and keeping within the context of the more prevalent system of restricting or prohibiting species via negative lists. Our examination of international, national, and regional regulations in Europe, the United States, and Canada found that criteria used for the development of both negative and positive lists were inconsistent or non-specific. Our online surveys of governments received limited responses, although telephone interviews with officials from governments either considering or developing positive lists provided useful insights into their attitudes and motivations towards adopting positive lists. We discuss key issues raised by civil servants including perceived advantages of positive lists and anticipated challenges when developing lists of suitable species. In addition, we compare functions of negative and positive lists, and recommend key principles that we hope will be helpful to governments concerning development and implementation of regulations based on positive lists.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/12/2371exotic petpetpositive listregulationprecautionary principlewildlife trade |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Elaine Toland Monica Bando Michèle Hamers Vanessa Cadenas Rob Laidlaw Albert Martínez-Silvestre Paul van der Wielen |
spellingShingle |
Elaine Toland Monica Bando Michèle Hamers Vanessa Cadenas Rob Laidlaw Albert Martínez-Silvestre Paul van der Wielen Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists Animals exotic pet pet positive list regulation precautionary principle wildlife trade |
author_facet |
Elaine Toland Monica Bando Michèle Hamers Vanessa Cadenas Rob Laidlaw Albert Martínez-Silvestre Paul van der Wielen |
author_sort |
Elaine Toland |
title |
Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists |
title_short |
Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists |
title_full |
Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists |
title_fullStr |
Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists |
title_full_unstemmed |
Turning Negatives into Positives for Pet Trading and Keeping: A Review of Positive Lists |
title_sort |
turning negatives into positives for pet trading and keeping: a review of positive lists |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Animals |
issn |
2076-2615 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
The trading and keeping of exotic pets are associated with animal welfare, conservation, environmental protection, agricultural animal health, and public health concerns and present serious regulatory challenges to legislators and enforcers. Most legislation concerning exotic pet trading and keeping involves restricting or banning problematic species, a practice known as “negative listing”. However, an alternative approach adopted by some governments permits only the keeping of animals that meet certain scientifically proven criteria as suitable in respect of species, environmental, and public health and safety protections. We conducted an evaluation of positive lists for the regulation of pet trading and keeping within the context of the more prevalent system of restricting or prohibiting species via negative lists. Our examination of international, national, and regional regulations in Europe, the United States, and Canada found that criteria used for the development of both negative and positive lists were inconsistent or non-specific. Our online surveys of governments received limited responses, although telephone interviews with officials from governments either considering or developing positive lists provided useful insights into their attitudes and motivations towards adopting positive lists. We discuss key issues raised by civil servants including perceived advantages of positive lists and anticipated challenges when developing lists of suitable species. In addition, we compare functions of negative and positive lists, and recommend key principles that we hope will be helpful to governments concerning development and implementation of regulations based on positive lists. |
topic |
exotic pet pet positive list regulation precautionary principle wildlife trade |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/12/2371 |
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