Scientists Uncover a Shady Web of Online Spider Sales
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
The greatest threat to these rare species isn't the pet trade, it's rather the destruction of their habitat. You'll find that most tarantula keepers prefer to buy captive-bred specimens, both for conservation reasons, but also due to risk of parasites.
Mexico handles this issue better than most countries: they let licensed breeders breed these animals in captivity and export them for the pet trade. This strategy reduces the pressure on the wild spiders, while not banning it entirely (which just leads to poaching)
Some folks who spend a lot of time with their jumping spiders will actually leave the enclosure door open, as the spider will happily stay there unless it lacks water or food for a long period of time, and typically only leaves when its human stops by. It will come to the door when you get close, jump on your hand and hang out very calmly (some people even go on walks with them), then gladly jump back into the enclosure when you're done and patiently wait for you to bring it food.
Well worth the watch if it’s new to you! Quite the perspective shifter
What does that look like?
* An analysis of online sales listings turned up more than 1,200 species of spiders, scorpions and other arachnids; just 2 percent of them are subject to international trade regulations, the researchers report
* Fish and Wildlife Service trade database included only 267 arachnid species, the scientists found
* The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which regulates the international trade of a variety of plant and animal species, had just 30 species in its trade database
* Nearly 200 of the species that have been discovered since 2000 are already being traded; dozens were available within a year or two of first being described, the researchers found
* In another recent study, researchers at Cornell University found multiple species of endangered tarantulas being sold online
* “Arachnids are being massively traded,” Dr. * Hughes said. * “And it seems to be going completely under the radar.”
> To learn more about the scale of the global arachnid trade, the authors of the new paper used a handful of search terms — “spider,” “scorpion,” “arachnid” — in nine languages to identify websites that might be selling the animals.
Has anyone else noticed? It seems like it's been going on since last autumn, at least.
That's been true for a long time. Do you have any evidence of this decision at the NYT?
> wokeism
I think that words like that are inflammatory (as is well known). Could you use more specific language and is there evidence? I know that's repeated a a lot in a certain segment, but reptition has no relationship with truth - facts (sometimes from investigative reporters) do. Thus chemistry not alchemy.
https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/brian-m-rosenthal-new-york-...
>For an exposé of New York City’s taxi industry that showed how lenders profited from predatory loans that shattered the lives of vulnerable drivers, reporting that ultimately led to state and federal investigations and sweeping reforms.
They still do tons of investigative journalism. It likely just doesn't cross your path unless you are an active NYT reader.
https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/2022-pulitzer-airstrikes-g...
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-traffic-stops-k...
Like sure neither of those are 'Watergate' takedowns of individuals or organizations, but unfortunately, Trump killed that kind of journalism.
> Trump killed that kind of journalism
How did he possibly kill that kind of journalism?
Maybe that attitude explains it, in some way.
>THE RANSOM - For generations, Haitians were forced to pay France for their freedom. How much was a mystery — until now. The Times scoured centuries-old documents to find out.