A dramatic rise in owning exotic pets in China is fuelling global demand for threatened species. The growing trade in alligators, snakes, monkeys, crocodiles and spiders is directly linked to species loss in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Here: A fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is groomed in a pet store in central Beijing. Native to the Sahara in North Africa, the species became a popular pet after being depicted as a character in Disney’s 2016 animated movie Zootopia. Individuals can cost between $2,000–$3,000. (Photo by Sean Gallagher/The Guardian)

American media personality Paris Hilton looks flawless in her little black dress which she pairs with a leather jacket on Saturday, September 26, 2020. The heiress is joined by beau Carter Reum as they venture out to Nobu in Malibu for a romantic date night. (Photo by X17/SIPA Press)

A protester in an Elmo mask dances during the Justice for George Floyd Philadelphia Protest on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Demonstrators took to the streets across the United States to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

A Black movement activist covered by red paint attends a protest against racism and police violence, and against a police operation that took place at Jacarezinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, on the day that marks 133 years since the abolition of Slavery in the country, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 13, 2021. (Photo by Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)

A protester in an Elmo mask dances during the Justice for George Floyd Philadelphia Protest on Saturday, May 30, 2020. Demonstrators took to the streets across the United States to protest the death of Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

“Joker” movie production tries to hide Joaquin Phoenix's clown make-up and green hair with umbrella and a long black cloth over his head as he was walking with the help of assistant and bodyguard to the set of “Joker” filming at a Bronx train station on September 22, 2018. (Photo by The Mega Agency)

A cloud of black smoke billows out the exhaust pipe of John Robertson's diesel dragster as he runs down the track during the 2015 NHRA Kansas Nationals, Friday, May 22, 2015, at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. (Photo by Chris Neal/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP Photo)

Police haul a youth to the paddy wagon as an undetermined number of arrest were made in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, February 25, 1971, as police moved in to disperse black youths after windows were broken and rocks and fruit thrown in what officers called “a major disturbance”. (Photo by Charles Kelly/AP Photo)