Trade Insights
Trade Insights tells the little known stories of animals in the harmful pet wildlife trade in Trinidad and Tobago. This content was developed by the Nurture Nature Campaign for social marketing purposes since most people, even wildlife keepers, are unaware of the brutal nature of the trade.
Monkeys
Capuchins and other small New World Monkeys are often traded in T&T. Unfortunately, primates are highly intelligent complex animals that suffer terribly in captivity.
Songbirds
Songbirds are part of a cruel and deadly trade that has resulted in local extinctions of up to 9 species and thousands of birds ripped from their forest homes.
Amazon Parrots
Amazons are kept at extremely high rates in T&T, most often in terribly inadequate conditions and fed diets that dramatically shorten their potentially 80 year lifespan.
Macaws
Macaws are highly sought after in the harmful and illegal pet wildlife trade due to their large size, bright colours, and ability to mimic human speech. Macaws are very smart and require more dedicated care than the average keeper can provide.
Reptiles
There is a misconception that reptiles are low maintenance pets. This often leads to their true welfare needs being overlooked. However, they actually have highly specific care needs.
Other Mammals
While not as frequently trafficked as some other species, charismatic mammals such as Otters, Sloths, and Porcupines are targeted by exotic animal collectors. These creatures are often neglected once their novelty has worn off.