Challender, Daniel W.S., Brockington, Dan, Hinsley, Amy, Hoffmann, Michael, Kolby, Jonathan, Massé, Francis, Natusch, Daniel J.D., Oldfield, Thomasina E.E., ’t Sas-Rolfes, Michael, and Milner-Gulland, E.J. (2022) Accurate characterization of wildlife trade and policy instruments: Reply to D'Cruze et al. (2022) and Frank and Wilcove (2022). Conservation Letters, 15 (1). e12870.

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Abstract

[Extract] D'Cruze et al. (2022) and Frank and Wilcove (2022) suggest that Challender et al. (2021) misrepresent their research. We reiterate that our intention was not to denigrate any particular study; instead, we aimed to draw attention to contemporary issues in wildlife trade research and highlight ways for research to better inform policy processes. Here, we respond to the points raised in these articles.

D'Cruze et al. suggest that we were incorrect to deduce from Harrington et al. (2019) that their position is that “use/trade [in Asian otters as exotic pets] constitutes a threat to the species or is detrimental to wild populations.” This is despite the title of that article being “Popularity of pet otters on YouTube: evidence of an emerging trade threat.” It is difficult to reconcile this title and statements within the article with the assertion that Harrington et al. did not conclude that the pet trade posed a threat to wild populations of Asian otters.

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