Smuggling snakes: a study on the global trade of green pythons (Morelia viridis)

The wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar industry that operates on local, national and international levels. In recent years the trade in wildlife for pets has increased considerably and demands species that are brightly coloured, attractively marked and rare. Green pythons (Morelia viridis) are one of the most highly sought after reptiles in the pet trade. Indonesia is the only country that permits the commercial export of green pythons, but all individuals must be the progeny of captive-bred stock. There are, however, a number of reports that suggest that many of the green pythons exported from Indonesia are in fact illegally harvested from the wild and laundered through wildlife breeding farms to be exported as captive-bred. I surveyed reptile collectors, traders, middlemen and farm owners in Indonesia, and examined the harvest demographic of green pythons collected for trade to determine the extent of illegal trade and effects of harvest on this species. In total, 4227 illegally harvested wild green pythons were recorded during surveys and high levels of harvest were found to have depleted and skewed the demographics of some island populations. Wild green pythons were traced from their point of capture to wildlife breeding farms in Jakarta where they are to be exported for the pettrade, confirming reports of laundering. Extrapolation of monthly collection estimates provided by wildlife traders revealed that at least 5337 green pythons are collected each year, suggesting that at least 80% of the green pythons exported from Indonesia annually are illegally harvested from the wild. The results of examination of 139 eggshells from five python species suggest that reptilian eggshell morphology may be used as proof of provenance for each individual reptile exported. Advertisements selling green pythons and consumer questionnaire surveys were used to test the Anthropogenic Allee Effect (AAE), a concept that shows rare species are disproportionally valued (and exploited) by humans, which reduces their population size and increases their value. I propose that an AAE may not only occur between species, but between populations within a species. Consumers were found toplace disproportionate value on rare populations of green pythons. Populations that exhibited a high relative frequency of abnormal colouration, and were relatively small (such as those on islands), were found to be suffering from the effects of over harvesting for the pet trade. The threats faced by green pythons are discussed and recommendation and directions for future research are offered tomitigate illegal harvests and ensure the survival of this species, and its populations, into the future