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Alarming numbers of threatened species are being smuggled into Japan and “laundered” into the exotic pet trade, a new study has found. The country’s weak legislation and porous borders are not only a boon for traffickers but the flow of species poses a risk of zoonotic diseases that can “jump” from animals to humans, as the coronavirus outbreak has highlighted with devastating effect. Exotic pet markets also threaten the survival of many wild species and can disrupt native biodiversity by introducing foreign, invasive species.
