may seem like creatures that need to be crushed rather than conserved, but wildlife experts say a growing global pet trade is putting wild populations at risk, even though they help humans and ecosystems. Collectors are now trading more than 1,200 species of arachnids , according to a, with 80 percent of them unmonitored and vulnerable to extinction.
“When people go into a pet shop, they see an animal and they assume that it’s probably raised in captivity,” Hughes says. “What we now know is that for small animals like the arachnids, over 50 percent of the individuals you see in pet stores have actually come from the wild. And that’s before we even properly account for mortality, because of course, if they’re being shipped over from Africa or wherever, a large number are probably going to die on the way.
Stewart says public interest in spiders and scorpions has exploded as people realize they are actually low-maintenance pets that don't need walking three times a day and can be kept in apartments or small homes without a backyard. “They’re fascinating creatures, and they’re beautiful,” says Stewart, who has been collecting them for the past 20 years.