The global illegal arachnid trade is threatening the most famous spider species in the world, Tarantula.
According to BBC, the tarantula trade has become a multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade industry, which is not only an unlawful act but a threat to habitat destruction and climate change.
Experts believe that if the illegal trade of tarantula spiders is not stopped at the right time, some species will be extinct before giving scientists a chance to study them.
Chris Hamilton, an assistant professor in the department of entomology, plant pathology, and nematology said, “Tarantulas are especially vulnerable to poaching because they’re long-lived, some reach 30 years old – and females reproduce late and infrequently. This is terrible for withstanding human disturbance (habitat destruction, pet trade collecting, or climate change) because of how long it takes to regenerate populations.”
As per a study, 43% of tarantula species are traded as souvenirs, research tools, and for medicines.
Moreover, the illegal trade of wildlife grew exponentially in the 1970s and 80s. At the same time, keeping these spiders as pets also became a trend that turned into a “tarantula hobby” in the 2000s. Today, researchers often see people who have collected more than 100 species in online forums.
Alice Hughes, associate professor of biology at the University of Hong Kong, expressed, “(These) forums show that people collect spiders a bit like people collect Pokemon, they want to ‘catch ’em all.’”
Hughes believes that making regulations for tarantula trade is a challenging task because of the lack of existing data. She said there are 1,000 known species of tarantula but many of them are either not cataloged or have been cataloged incorrectly by traders.
