(Varanus spp.). - International Varanid Interest Group

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BIAWAK VOL. 3 NO. 242Table 2. Exports of live monitor lizards by the nine countries contributing in excess of one percent of animals to the global trade.CountryVaranus exanthematicus Varanus niloticus Varanus salvator Other Varanus spp.No. lizardsexportedPercentage ofspecies’ total tradeNo. lizardsexportedPercentage ofspecies’ total tradeNo. lizardsexportedPercentage ofspecies’ total tradeNo. other spp.ExportedNo. lizardsexportedPercentage ofspecies’ total tradeBenin 122,800 19 90,812 29.3 - - 0 - -Ghana 254,770 39.3 8,427 2.7 - - 0 - -Togo 243,598 37.6 164,167 53 - - 0 - -Tanzania 5,404 0.8 15,844 5.1 24 0.009 1 19,770 15.8Indonesia 202 0.03 28 0.009 66,524 25.2 25 73,006 57.8Malaysia 7 0.001 - - 138,363 52.4 14 3,310 2.6Philipines - - 3 0.0009 18,719 7.097 6 118 0.1Thailand - - 10 0.003 17,327 6.56 8 2,196 1.7United States 9,575 1.47 6,326 2.04 4,345 1.65 24 1,825 1.5Total 636,356 98.201 285,617 92.1529 245,302 92.916 100,225 79.5Table 3. Sources of livemonitor lizards legallytraded between 1990 and2005 as recorded in theCITES trade database(CB = Captive Bred, R =Ranched or farmed lizardsand WC = Wild Caught).V. exanthematicus V. niloticus V. salvator All other Varanus spp.Year CB R WC CB R WC CB R WC CB R WC1990 0 0 13,567 1 0 4,309 0 0 3,884 8 0 1,7121991 0 0 14,389 0 0 7,230 0 0 1,073 17 0 1,8811992 0 0 16,220 0 0 13,444 0 0 2,232 13 0 2,4831993 866 0 30,165 67 0 13,629 0 0 5,359 18 0 4,7781994 1,216 25 44,445 452 0 20,760 0 0 3,685 52 0 5,7421995 855 115 45,007 609 325 22,754 19 0 4,270 176 0 2,5851996 2,145 1,195 35,549 1,243 1,564 16,178 40 0 2,960 140 0 4,1801997 4,191 1,657 24,368 4,001 1,003 8,459 24 0 2,272 232 4 3,5141998 1,898 1,636 22,468 1,160 997 8,750 25 0 18,331 56 90 4,0091999 1,250 6,236 19,701 690 4,737 6,454 1 3 14,660 52 136 3,4342000 415 8,135 18,158 170 6,399 4,937 0 0 9,689 236 2 3,5552001 253 15,307 21,351 0 7,879 7,366 7 7 9,210 448 87 4,9072002 6 14,916 31,679 0 8,514 8,597 2 23 37,461 841 368 4,7782003 131 13,546 24,650 74 14,041 5,988 0 75 14,397 719 472 4,7802004 20 15,850 15,572 0 8,678 3,991 4 20 11,835 812 479 3,5532005 0 12,696 15,329 87 6,842 2,595 0 586 21,295 1,712 1,146 2,754
43PERNETTA - MONITORING THE TRADE IN LIVE MONITOR LIZARDSis likely to be a similar story for the two Asian countries(Malaysia and Indonesia) that continue to export largenumbers of monitor lizards, as both live animals andtheir constituent products, which raises questions aboutthe sustainability of this trade.Intensive collection of animals may have significantimpacts on local populations. Selective harvestingof larger male V. salvator is known to occur for theskin trade in Sumatra (Shine et al., 1996) and mayalso occur with the live animal trade, with exporterspotentially favouring smaller individuals and juvenilesdue to reduced transportation costs. Selective harvestingmay also have a negative effect on future populationrecruitment. However, it should be noted that althoughalmost 1.4 million live monitor lizards were tradedduring the 30 year period reviewed, this number paleswhen compared to the estimated 2.3 million animals thatare killed annually to supply the international leatherindustry (Jenkins and Broad, 1994). Despite suchintensive collection of animals for the skin trade, Shineet al. (1996) argue that a number of characteristics suchas ecological flexibility and high reproductive rate ofvaranid lizards and, in particular V. salvator, allow themto withstand such high rates of harvest. Further workexamining the ecological traits of monitor lizards destinedfor the pet trade is required before a definitive answeron the sustainability of collecting can be ascertained(Iskandar and Erdelen, 2006). In particular, naturallyrare species that have limited distributions may besignificantly impacted by even low levels of harvesting.This is particulary important for monitor lizards knownto be endemic to small islands, for example V. beccariiand V. melinus, whose populations are unlikely to beable to withstand intensive harvesting. Studies of V.Fig. 4. Trends in the annual proportions of wild caught (green), ranched and farmed (red) and captive bred (black)live monitor lizards in the global commercial trade. Panels refer to; V. exanthematicus (a), V. niloticus (b), V.salvator (c) and all remaining Varanus spp. (d)
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