China's underestimated, characteristic herpetofauna pet trade highlights the importance of global efforts in conservation

Reptiles and amphibians are highly threatened and constitute a major part of the global exotic pet trade. Therefore, it is essential to document the scale of their trades not only for wildlife conservation, but also for sustainable use of resources. However, little is known regarding the pet trade of herpetofauna outside the West. By synthesizing a comprehensive, multi-sourced dataset including international trade databases, online surveys, and literature reviews, we reveal the extent and characteristics of China's severely overlooked herpetofauna pet trade. Not only does China's trade achieve an astonishing scale, involving 1619 species with substantial volumes, but it is also imbedded in the complex international trade network. Our data identify a clear geographical pattern on the international trade of China, with Hong Kong serving as a key transitional site and a trafficking center. For the first time, we show that China's herpetofauna pet trade is dominated by freshwater turtles and tortoises, which is unprecedented based on published data. Moreover, China's native herpetofauna has been chased by the international market and traded insidiously with secondary transitional sites. Such under-documented and underregulated global trade, coupling with evident trafficking, threatens non-native, endangered species and China's endemic species through overexploitation. Furthermore, the wide trade and domestic breeding of non-native species greatly increases the risk of biological invasion in China. Together, our results highlight the importance of filling data gaps from major developing nations, and we call for collaborative efforts on law enforcements and regulation makings to properly manage the global herpetofauna pet trade.