Our analysis highlights several ways that the US Fish and Wildlife Service could improve data collection. To enhance public health offi cials' ability to trace back the sources of imported zoonotic diseases, record keeping of the point of origin of shipments could be expanded to include not just their most recent and previous point of origin (as is currently done with the "Country of Origin" and "Country of Importation/Exportation/Re-importation") but also their actual origin. Accurate recording of the source of the animals (e.g., wild-caught, captive-bred) is also needed. Our results showed that half of all individuals had a declared source that was not one of the allowed choices (e.g., wild-caught, captive-bred). The source of an animal affects not only the likely level of risk (i.e., one would expect captive-bred individuals to carry fewer zoonotic diseases than wild-caught individuals) but also mitigation strategies when zoonotic diseases are identifi ed (e.g., euthanizing a colony vs. improving quarantine after capture).