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.


White-fronted Capuchin 11 - Sad dignity.JPG

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.

Capuchins
Red Howlers

DSC_3048.jpg

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.

Bullfinches
Robin

Yellow-crowned Amazon 018.JPG

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.

Amazons

Blue and gold macaw 098.JPG

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.

Macaws

Tortoise 62.JPG

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.

Yellow-footed Tortoise

IWT - Porcupine300.jpg

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.

Giant River Otter
Crab-eating Raccoon
Brown-throated Sloth