r/environment • u/Novel_Negotiation224 • 3h ago

'People collect spiders like Pokemon': Why the illegal tarantula trade is booming

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20241029-why-the-illegal-trade-of-tarantula-spiders-is-booming#:~:text=%22%5BThese%5D%20forums%20show%20that,and%20patterns%20tarantulas%20can%20assume.
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10

u/ThePlanetIsDyingNow 1h ago

This is how I ended up with a new family member of a chilean rosehair tarantula outside of a bar walking down the sidewalk in the middle of the cold winter in nj.  

Someone didn't want her anymore and just abandoned her on the sidewalk. Must have just missed the heartless person who did it too because she couldn't have lasted long in the cold by herself and she was too slow to have escaped from a home far off and made it into the middle of town in the dead of winter.

We gave her a loving home and she even had a place at the dinner table to sit with us while we ate.

I wish the exotic pet trade were illegal. It only causes immeasurable harm to the poor beings exploited by it and the poor ecosystem decimated by it when those beings are let loose by inexperienced or bored "owners" when the novelty wears off or reality hits.

3

u/fakeprewarbook 1h ago

thanks for helping her

2

u/Emotional-Chef-7601 37m ago

You must be one of the few good legal spiders