A flower and bird market in Chaoyang District, Beijing is crowded with people, and some carefully crafted and creatively designed glass jars are surrounded by crowds - they are eagerly visiting and selecting pig nosed snakes, tree frogs, maned lion lizards, hermit crabs, bamboo knot worms... This is the scene seen by a reporter from the "Legal Daily" during a recent visit. In recent years, with the dual changes in living standards and consumption concepts, the pet market has opened up a new chapter of diversified development. The emerging trend of exotic pets (referring to alternative pets beyond traditional pets such as cats, dogs, birds, and ornamental fish) has entered the public eye and become a sought after "magical animal" by many people. Behind the trend, risks are hidden, and the resulting problems such as invasive alien species and the spread of infectious diseases should not be underestimated. China's Criminal Law and Biosafety Law have already established clear guidelines for various behaviors related to the introduction and release of alien species. In 2023, the No. 1 central document included "alien pets" for the first time, emphasizing "severely crack down on illegal introduction of alien species, implement key prevention and control actions against major invasive species, and strengthen standardized management of alien pet trade and release". Who is enthusiastic about raising exotic pets? How to address the legal, ecological, and biosafety issues behind the trend of raising exotic pets? The reporter conducted an investigation into this matter. Raising exotic pets has become a trend, and young people are the main consumers. Zhao Lin, from Chaoyang District, Beijing, is a "post-90s" who once raised a long tailed iguana (commonly known as a chameleon). At first, Zhao Lin was attracted by the unique appearance of the long tailed iguana, thinking that it looked good and had a "cool" vibe, so he decided to raise it. There are many young people like Zhao Lin who are interested in exotic pets. Reporters interviewed multiple pet lovers in Beijing, Hunan, Guangdong and other places and found that climbing pets represented by snakes, lizards, geckos, etc. have gained many fans with their unique appearance and relatively quiet and worry free characteristics. The 2025 White Paper on China's Pet Industry (Consumption Report) shows that in 2024, the number of people raising exotic pets will continue to rise, with turtles, snakes, and geckos being the main types of climbing pets; According to statistics, there are about 17.07 million people in China who are raising exotic pets, with a market size approaching 10 billion yuan. The majority of people who are raising exotic pets are post-95s; On social media platforms, there are countless bloggers who share pet raising strategies and tips for playing games. At a flower and bird market in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Liu Kang runs a pet climbing shop. At present, it is the peak sales season, and the store is bustling with activity. Liu Kang warmly welcomes the continuous stream of customers while skillfully cleaning the feeding tanks for various climbing pets. These cylinder bodies come in various shapes and sizes, and the "little ones" inside are even more diverse. Corn snakes and albino ball pythons meander among them, spiders lie quietly in the corners, and lizards occasionally poke their heads out... "Many of the customers who come to the store are students who love climbing pets and are curious and exploratory about these novel small animals; there are young people who have just graduated and have just entered society to live independently, and have the need to raise pets to meet their spiritual companionship needs; there are also some middle-aged and young customers who have been fond of climbing pets since childhood, but their parents did not allow them at that time. Now that they have economic strength and autonomy, they come to buy them," Liu Kang told reporters about the main customer base of the store. The reporter saw in this store that in less than half an hour, three or four crawling pets such as bird spiders and sterile mice had already been sold. A leopard print palace guard is usually sold for several hundred to several thousand yuan Liu Kang told reporters, 'The flower branch mice and drooping ear rabbits in the store are also selling well, while exotic pets such as snakes and spiders require customers to pay a partial deposit first. We take videos or pictures for customers, and then deliver them to their doorstep after they are satisfied.'. Industry insiders remind that although raising exotic pets is currently popular, one should still be careful not to violate relevant laws and regulations, otherwise it may constitute illegal transactions. For example, China has joined the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which prohibits the sale of over 30000 species of animals and plants listed in its appendix. At present, most of the popular exotic pets on the market, such as the plain giant lizard, high crowned chameleon, taiga lizard, green iguana, ball python, and red tailed python, are not protected animals in the Appendix of the Convention originating in China; A survey conducted on pet owners of different pets showed that only about half of them were aware that they were raising a different pet when purchasing and raising it, and the remaining owners, especially first-time buyers, were not aware whether their purchased pet belonged to a different pet. Some people choose to abandon their pets at will when the initial novelty fades away, and the practical problem of raising exotic pets arises one after another. Wu Xing, from Chaozhou, Guangdong, owns a lizard and shares with reporters with a bitter smile that the majority of expenses for raising lizards are focused on building a comfortable living environment for them - expensive lizard boxes. The food supply for lizards is also very difficult, as they need live insects that can survive without stockpiling excessively. To prevent them from killing each other, they need to be mixed with specialized nutritional powder before feeding, so that the lizards can eat a balanced diet. In addition, lizards are sensitive to humidity and need to be equipped with humidifiers or dehumidifiers to accurately regulate humidity according to their species. At the same time, a large number of climbing branches and shelters should be prepared, and regular disinfection should be carried out to prevent bacterial growth and respiratory diseases. I would rather work harder than let them get sick. There are not many doctors who can treat lizards, and the price is also high Wu Xing said. Li Li, who works for an Internet company in Beijing, raised a Brazilian turtle two years ago. She explained that the cost of raising turtles mostly falls on the turtle tank, and the food for turtles is also not worry free. Fish and shrimp need to be carefully selected from fresh sources, and attention should be paid to avoiding cross contamination when frozen. Before feeding, they should also be thawed to a suitable temperature in advance to prevent turtles from indigestion after eating. What's more troublesome is that turtles have high requirements for lighting and water quality. They need to purchase professional aquarium lamps to ensure sufficient lighting time, install powerful filtration systems, constantly pay attention to changes in water acidity, alkalinity, and hardness, frequently change water, clean turtle tanks, carefully care for turtle shells, and prevent diseases such as decay of the shell. I have been busy every day, worrying about my 'turtle son' and spending a lot of energy and time, afraid that if I don't clean it in time, it will get sick Li Li said that for Brazilian turtles, if they do not receive timely treatment after falling ill, the probability of death is very high, and many pet hospitals can only shake their heads when they see sick exotic pets. An anonymous exotic pet doctor explained that current medical resources for exotic pets are scarce and difficult to meet demand. The threshold for becoming a pet doctor is extremely high, requiring a background in animal medicine and obtaining a professional veterinary certificate to qualify for the profession. In the early days, there was a lack of professional training for the treatment of exotic pets in China, and we could only rely on some platforms to invite foreign teachers to teach, translating while teaching, resulting in low efficiency in knowledge transmission. And the types of exotic pets are diverse. Every time a new exotic pet is diagnosed, doctors have to spend a lot of time and energy researching it. On the one hand, they need to understand its unique physiological structure and habits, and on the other hand, they need to study possible diseases and corresponding treatment methods. This not only tests the knowledge reserve of doctors, but also challenges their learning ability. Although there have been improvements, overall resources are still scarce, professional talents are scarce, and many places do not even have professional medical institutions for exotic pets. Sick exotic pets often do not receive timely treatment, and the risk of death or abandonment also increases The doctor said. Reporters found that when encountering numerous difficulties in raising exotic pets, such as high treatment costs, difficulty in taming pets, and even aggression, some breeders choose to abandon them; The reporter found on a second-hand trading platform that many people are selling exotic pets such as snakes, hedgehogs, foxes, spiders, etc. Ms. Liang from Beijing has been raising flower branch mice for several years. She told reporters that the living range of flower branch mice is very small and they do not need to spend a lot of energy on raising them, but there are still many incidents of abandonment. The reasons she is aware of for abandoning pets include: some college students abandoned their pets in their dormitories because they had to take a vacation or graduate, and it was difficult for them to ride public transportation with them; Some may simply abandon the exotic pet due to illness and high medical expenses. And abandoning exotic pets at will may be illegal. According to the Biosafety Law, if an alien species is released or discarded without approval, the relevant department shall order the capture and retrieval of the released or discarded alien species within a specified period of time and impose a fine; Releasing or discarding species introduced from overseas at will may result in serious consequences and may be suspected of the crime of illegal introduction, release, or disposal of invasive alien species; If an abandoned animal causes damage to others during the abandonment period, according to the Civil Code, the original owner or manager of the animal shall bear tort liability. Whether the purchasing channels are chaotic or not is completely unknown. During the interview, the reporter noticed that with the increasing demand for exotic pets, a gray trading industry chain has quietly formed. Taking snake trading as an example, due to strict control over live animal trading on e-commerce platforms, most transactions within the "snake circle" are transferred to social platforms. Sellers are mostly individuals, and to avoid risks, they often choose to send regular express delivery. Buyers need to record unboxing videos when receiving the goods, otherwise the seller will not be responsible if any problems occur. The problem also arises. There is a lot of chaos in the 'snake circle' agency, almost no threshold, anyone can do it, "said Wang Can, who has raised more than 10 different types of snakes. He told reporters that some sellers and agents do not have the source of goods and rely solely on beautiful pictures found online to promote and drive up prices on social media platforms. For example, the normal market price for albino red snake seedlings is between 250 and 350 yuan, but these agents are priced at seven or eight hundred yuan. There are also some sellers and agents who lack basic knowledge of snake breeding, and only rely on a few words online to introduce them to buyers, resulting in buyers receiving pet snakes that often do not match the promotion. In addition, due to the numerous levels of agency, layers of subcontracting, and poor information transmission, even if the agent wants to ensure the quality of the pet, they are often unable to do so. Wu Xing found that in cross pet transactions, when someone offers a higher price, some sellers and agents will force previous buyers to return the pet by delaying delivery, and then they will sell the pet to a new buyer at a higher price. On the contrary, it is also common for buyers to cheat on goods. After receiving the goods, buyers refuse to confirm and report to the platform that the seller has sent live items, threatening the seller to refund. After the platform intervenes, it usually judges the seller to refund, causing the seller to suffer losses and chaotic transaction order. In the cross pet trading industry chain, pet disease prevention and control is also a major issue. The reporter learned from multiple pet owners that most of them purchase pets through online trading platforms or sell them one-on-one through acquaintances, and the term "quarantine" is very unfamiliar to them. Some interviewees frankly stated that they had no idea about quarantine before purchasing. The above-mentioned anonymous exotic pet doctor pointed out: "The purchasing channels for exotic pets are chaotic, with no fixed trading market and unclear supply channels. The origin of these animals is unknown, and it is completely unknown whether they have been quarantined. It is also impossible to determine what kind of virus is hidden in their bodies." The doctor also revealed that there are many deficiencies in the research on zoonotic diseases in exotic pets in China, such as whether the viruses they carry are infectious and pathogenic, and how to prevent and control them, which require in-depth research. Live mailing is suspected to be illegal and can easily lead to illness or death. After placing an order for exotic pets, the subsequent transportation process becomes another "disaster area". According to relevant regulations, all express deliveries are strictly prohibited from mailing live items