A worker looks at Spring Festival decorations ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year festivities in Beijing, China on January 12, 2023. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Women breastfeed their babies at an event promoting the freedom of mothers to breastfeed in public, during World Breastfeeding Week, at the Village Museum in Bucharest Romania, Saturday, August 6, 2016. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

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)

An ethnic Lisu man dances barefoot on hot charcoal embers to celebrate the annual Knife Pole Festival in Luzhang township of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan province, China, March 29, 2018. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

The music group, Boyfriend, performs at the Gentilly Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Thursday, April 25, 2019. (Photo by Doug Parker/AP Photo}

Chile's Mary Dee Vargas (L) reacts after defeating Brazil's Larissa Farias compete in their Judo Women's –48 kg Bronze Medal contest during the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games in Lima on August 8, 2019. (Photo by Guadalupe Pardo/Reuters)

Denmark's midfielder #06 Morten Frendrup lies behind teammates during the UEFA Nations League quarter final second leg football match between Portugal and Denmark at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on March 23, 2025. (Photo by Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP Photo)

A young worshipper holds a lotus flower as Buddhist monks gather at Wat Arun Buddhist temple during Asaha Bucha day in Bangkok on July 20, 2024. (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham/AFP Photo)