Kenya conservationists raise alarm over decline in species as reptile pet trade surges

Kenya’s commercial wildlife trade has expanded sharply over the past decade, with a tenfold rise in the number of captive-bred reptiles exported as exotic pets, a report by World Animal Protection said Thursday.

Although the trade is legal, 77 percent of traded species have seen their populations decline in the wild, raising sustainability concerns.

The trade in live reptiles rose sharply from 8,551 in 2013 to 86,330 in 2023, said the…