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)

In this June 12, 2017 photo, a woman stands in front of a mural on the slope in Central district, Hong Kong. Once known as Victoria after the British queen, Hong Kong island's waterfront formed the core of the British settlement after Hong Kong island was handed over as a colony in 1842. Today as Hong Kong approaches the 20th anniversary of its return to China, it remains a bustling commercial and financial center as well as the location of the main government offices. However, along the streets that angle sharply upward toward the mountains above, a more relaxed pace of life endures. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Chinese paramilitary guards monitoring passengers as they head to their train to travel to their hometowns for the “Spring Festival” or Lunar New Year at Nantong Railway Station in Jiangsu province, near Shanghai Travellers taking part in the world' s largest annual human migration must be home by January 27 to usher in the new year on January 28. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

People look at a Christmas tree decorated with colourful lights at a residential compound in Beijing on December 8, 2017. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP Photo)

A reveler attends the “Volta, Alice” celebrations before Rio Carnival, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 17 February 2019. The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro runs from 02 to 09 March 2019. (Photo by António Lacerda/EPA/EFE)

Sunset on Brighton beach on February 24, 2019 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Andrew Hasson/Getty Images)

Men give bananas to monkeys gathered on the side of the road as India remains under an unprecedented lockdown over the highly contagious coronavirus (COVID-19) on April 08, 2020 in New Delhi, India. Wild animals, including monkeys, are roaming human settlements in India as people are staying indoors due to the 21-day lockdown. (Photo by Yawar Nazir/Getty Images)

A member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) reacts as her mother (L) places a badge with stars on the uniform during the 34th batch assistant commandants pipping ceremony at the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hyderabad on October 29, 2021. (Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP Photo)