JAPANOPINION SURVEY ON
EXOTIC PET USE IN JAPAN
2021

With the backdrop of the growing popularity of exotic
pets, WWF Japan conducted an opinion survey ofJapanese citizens’ attitude toward exotic pet use andits associated issues.

KEYFINDINGS● One in every three (33%) indicated interest in petting exotic pets,
while one in every six (17%) indicated interest in having them aspets. The interest was higher among younger age groups.
● Around 68% had little or no knowledge of the five issues
associated with exotic pets, namely, the issues of infectious
diseases, animal welfare, endangered species, illegal
trade, and invasive species.
● After being informed, 95% responded that they felt the issues
were problems. About 60% expressed that the issue of infectious
diseases was most important, followed by 18% indicating that
endangered species were the most important.
● About 95% responded that stronger regulations were ‘needed’ or‘somewhat needed’. However, the proportion expressing they
were ‘needed’ declined with age.
● After being informed about the issues, respondents interested inpetting declined to 25%, while 14% still expressed interest inhaving exotic pets. The margin of decline in the latter wasmarkedly small.
● The survey revealed that although the awareness on the issues of
exotic pets is low amongst Japanese citizens, once they areinformed, many would perceive these issues as problems.
Conversely, potential consumers found particularly in younger
age groups had a tendency to not change their interest in having
exotic pets by simply being informed.
● These results suggest that a set of actions, including policy efforts
to realize swift regulatory improvements, raising publicawareness to foster the social norms, changing the behavior ofpotential consumers, as well as improving of businesses isnecessary to address the issues associated with keeping exoticpet. WWF will work together with a wide range of stakeholders toachieve these changes.

* In this survey, exotic pets were defined as "animals that are not considered as common pets,primarily those having overseas and/or wild origins".

©WWF / Simon Rawles

Forest by the Mahakam River, Kutai Barat, Borneo. Southeast Asia is home to many species that are used as exotic pets, including slow lorises (genus Nycticebus) and the green tree python (Morelia viridis).

WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent
conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global
network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop thedegradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in whichhumans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biologicaldiversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable,and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

1Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

Published in March 2021 by WWF JapanAny reproduction in full or in part must mention the title and credit
the above-mentioned publisher as the copyright owner.
For contact details and further information:
World Wide Fund for Nature Japan (WWF Japan)
communi@wwf.or.jp Tel: +81-3-3769-1714
3F Mita-kokusai Bldg., 1-4-28 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

INTROUDCTION& METHODOLOGYJapan is one of the key exotic pet markets in theworld. Animals like otters, galagos, hedgehogs,owls, and many other rare species of turtles andtortoises, lizards, chameleons, frogs, etc., aretraded as private pets or for the purpose of display
and petting at commercial facilities like animalcafés. In fact, Japan is known for having thehighest number of exotic animal cafés in East andSoutheast Asia. The popularity of exotic pets isbeing amplified through social media and themass media. However, it is not well known thatsuch popularity of exotic pet encompasses© Martin Harvey / WWF

multifaceted issues, including the risks ofinfectious diseases, animal welfare, endangeredspecies, illegal trade, and invasive species. WWFJapan, therefore, conducted its first opinion
survey of Japanese citizens on the use of exotic
pets and attitudes toward these issues.
The survey was conducted between February 1stand 3rd via an online questionnaire. The sample
consisted of 1,000 respondents of age 15–79,
reflecting Japan’s age composition. In this survey,
exotic pets were defined as “animals that are notconsidered as common pets, primarily those© Kari Schnellmann

having overseas and/or wild origins.”

Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 20212INTEREST IN EXOTIC PETS
Ranking of animals wanted as pets
– excluding dogs and cats

Responses were provided against the following categories of animals.

■ Interest in keeping as pets
■ Experience with keeping as pets
Rabbits*

14.7%
11.8%

Aquarium fishes

11.4%
13.2%

Rodents(e.g., hamsters and chinchillas)*Hedgehogs

11.3%

Small-sized birds(e.g., budgerigars)*

10.5%

1.7%

Ferrets

1.5%

Otters0.3%

Sugar gliders

0.5%

Meerkats

0.2%

Penguins

0%

Insects (e.g., beetles)*

8.2%
7.4%

6.8%
5.8%0.6%

14.4%

4.5%
4.5%
4.2%

Exotic pets - “never had”
but “interested in having”

3.8%
0.3%
3.6%

Fennec fox

3.5%
0.4%

Snakes3.5%
0.4%

Chameleons

3.2%
0.4%

Lizards

2.5%
1.6%

Marmosets and tamarins

2.3%
0%

Newts and salamanders

1.7%
1.4%

Bats

1.7%
0.2%

Frogs

1.3%
3.3%

Non-insect arthropods(e.g., spiders, scorpions)

For this survey, exotic pets weredefined as “animals that are notconsidered as common pets,
primarily those having overseas
and/or wild origins.” However, it
is often difficult to draw clear
lines for many animal groups.
The animal groups on the left chart
also include categories which could
contain both common pets andexotic pets defined in this survey.
Therefore, the proportion of
respondents with experience inkeeping exotic pets shown above isa crude estimate.

19.8%

7.2%

Turtles, tortoises
Prairie dogs

41.4%

9.9%

Medium-sized birds(e.g., parrots)

Slow lorises

excluding relatively common pets such as rabbits,*hamsters,
goldfish, budgerigars, beetles, etc.

17.2%

10.5%

Goldfish, carps, and killifish*

0.2%

Exotic animals, such as aquarium
fishes, hedgehogs, owls, medium-sizedbirds (e.g., parrots), ferrets, otters,
and sugar gliders, were among the
top-ranked animals desired as pets.
Some also expressed interest in
keeping reptiles, amphibians, andinsects.

21.9%

1.0%
0.4%
（N=1000）3

have experience of
keeping animals otherthan conventional pets*

11.0%

1.2%

Owls

50%
29%

have experience of
keeping animals otherthan dogs and cats

Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

Q Would you like to pet exotic animals?

Interest inpetting:By age groups

10s

33%

are interested in petting(yes or yes to a certain degree)(N=1000)■ Yes ■ Yes to a cer tain degree

20s

30s

40s

50s

60s

70s

63%

49%

42%

37%

28%

25%

13%

(N=59)(N=126)(N=143)(N=186)(N=163)(N=163)(N=160)

Q Would you like to have (or continue to have) exotic pets?

Interest inhaving:
By age groups

10s

17%

are interested in having/continuing to have as pets
(yes or yes to a certain degree)(N=1000)■ Yes ■ Yes to a cer tain degree

20s

30s

40s

50s

60s

70s

39%

25%

22%

19%

16%

9%

4%

(N=59)(N=126)(N=143)(N=186)(N=163)(N=163)(N=160)Reasons I want to keep exotic pets

1animals are kawaii (cute)

53 %

2

animals give me iyashi (healing)

43 %

3

they are animals that I like

39 %

4

I want to pet animals

29 %

5

I enjoy viewing animals

17%

6

they are animals that my family likes

6

I am interested in rare animals

8animals are beautiful

9

I feel lonely without animals

10

I want to attract attention bykeeping rare animals

11Other

16 %
16 %
14 %
7%
2%
1%

Stronger interest in younger age groups
The proportion of respondents indicating interestin petting and keeping exotic pets doubled in theteenage group. Furthermore, over 50% of teenage
males/females, males in their 20s, and females intheir 30s expressed interest in petting exoticanimals.
People in their 10s and 20s accessed information
about exotic pets through a wide range of sources
including the internet (portal sites as well as
websites for zoos and aquariums), TV (shows,commercials), and the social media such as Twitter.

Motivation behind wanting exotic pets
The most common reasons for wanting exotic pets
pertained to notions of “kawaii (cute)” and “iyashi(healing).” These motivations appear to be sharedwith motivations toward more common pets likedogs and cats. Contrarily, 16% expressed rarity wasan important factor.

(Among those gave reasons for wanting N=354)

Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

4

ATTITUDE TOWARDS ISSUESWITH EXOTIC PETS
Level of awareness on the issues were low. However, after being informed,
95% perceived them as problems.
Issues with exotic pets

Level of awarenessLevel of concern

68%

96%

unawarefelt it is aproblem

01 Infectious diseases
There are risks of contracting infectious diseases
from exotic pets, as certain pathogens (called“zoonotic diseases”) transmit from animals tohumans. COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease.

02 Animal welfare
Some are animals not suited to be kept as pets
in private homes or facilities like cafés. Suchanimals may suffer from serious mental andphysical stress.

03 Endangered species
Many animals kept as exotic pets are
endangered species. For some, pet trade isthreatening their survival in the wild.

04 Illegal trade
Exotic pet smuggling cases are busted every
year in Japan. It is known that smuggled
animals enter the domestic pet market.

05 Invasive species
There are many incidents, where animals
traded as exotic pets are introduced into a
nonnative environment with negative
consequences for the ecosystems.

Attitude toward the fiveissues (average)

68%

after being informed

79%

94%

unawarefelt it is aproblem

66%

95%

unawarefelt it is aproblem

64%

95%

unawarefelt it is aproblem

61%

96%

unawarefelt it is aproblem

unaware(have no knowledgeor little knowledge)

95%

felt it is a problem(it is a problem or somewhatproblem)(N=1000)

5

Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

The most important issues
with exotic pets:
Animal welfare

4.7%

Invasivespecies

11.5 %

Infectious
diseases

60.0%

Endangeredspecies

17.7%

chose infectious diseases

Infectious diseases considered most important,followed by endangered species.

Illegal trade

6.1%

60%

The tendency to emphasize the issue of infectious
disease likely stems from the awareness brought about
by COVID-19, as well as the fact that it is the only issue
that presents a direct health risks to humans.
Following infectious diseases, 18% responded that theissue of endangered species was most important. The
issue of animal welfare was the least known of all theissues, with 79% being unaware.

(N=1000)

ATTITUDE TOWARD
REGULATIONS ON EXOTIC PETS
Q Do you feel stronger regulations are needed?
after being informed about the five issues and the current regulations (P7)95 %By age groups

felt stronger regulations are needed(needed or somewhat needed)■ needed ■ somewhat needed(N=1000)■ not needed

10s

49 %

42%

8%

Slight difference across age
groups

20s

44%

48%

8%

Across all samples, 95% expressed thatstronger regulations were ‘needed’ or‘somewhat needed’, with 67%
indicating that it was ‘needed’. For
each age group, over 90% expressed it
was ‘needed’ or ‘somewhat needed’.
However, around 80% in the agegroup 50s–70s indicated that it was‘needed’, the proportion went down to
only 45-50% in the 10s–20s.
Furthermore, while only 1-2% in their50s–70s expressed that stronger
regulations were not needed, theproportion went up to 8-9% in the
10s–40s.

（N=59）（N=126）

30s

56 %

36 %

8%

40s

62%

30 %

9%

（N=143）（N=186）

50s

77%

21%

2%

60s

78%

21%

1%

70代

83%

16 %

1%

（N=163）（N=163）（N=160）Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

6Attitude toward regulations on exotic pets

■ needed
ImportDomestic trade

Handling after
domestic trade■ somewhat needed■ not needed

62%

Prohibit import or restrict it substantially
Strictly regulate domestic trade toensure traceability

32%

69 %

26 %

6%
5%

Prohibit possession as pets at private
homes

50 %

39 %

11%

Prohibit possession at facilities like cafés

44%

43%

14%

Introduce license requirements(expert knowledge and facility requirement)

60 %

33%

7%

Limit the kinds of animals that can be kept
in private homes or facilities like cafés

59 %

34%

7%

63%

31%

6%

Introduce guidelines on appropriate
handling that are tailored to each species(N=1000)

Over 90% responded that regulations over trade and management of animal handling were ‘needed’ or ‘somewhatneeded’, with 59-69% indicating that they were ‘needed’. Even 86–89% indicated prohibiting the possession of
exotic pets at home or facilities like cafés were ‘needed’ or ‘somewhat needed’, with 44–50% indicating they were‘needed’.

［ Supplementary information on current regulations ］

7

Infectious
diseases

Certain animals (e.g., monkeys and bats) with high risk of infectious diseases are banned from import.
However, there are few regulation to domestically trade and handle these animals, including keeping them aspets. This is giving rise to a situation where, in addition to domestically bred animals, illegally imported
animals are traded as pets. Furthermore, the current regulation does not comprehensively cover import ofexotic pets from the standpoint of precautionary principle toward disease risks.

Animalwelfare

Existing regulations on handling of animals do not provide for the welfare of exotic pets or animals having wild
origins. This gives rise to a situation where many species of wild origin are kept privately at homes andfacilities, such as cafés, in conditions that undermine their welfare.

Endangeredspecies

Existing regulations do not sufficiently cover the domestic trade of non-native endangered species. Many species
are outside the scope of regulations and are being traded without traceability, which raises concerns over theincreasing decline of wild populations in their native ranges.

Illegal trade

Current regulations do not require sellers to present any proof of legal origin for most animal species in trade. As aresult, consumers are unable to distinguish if animals that have been illegally imported (smuggled).

Invasivespecies

Current regulations prohibit import and handling (keeping as pets) of certain animal species which wereconfirmed to have negative impacts on local ecosystems. However, the regulation does not widely coverimport or handling of non-native exotic pets from the standpoint of precautionary principles towardecosystem invasion risks.

Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

CHANGE IN ATTITUDE TOWARDSEXOTIC PETS
Comparing people’s perception before and after the survey, the proportions of respondents interested in petting
and keeping exotic pets, respectively, changed from 33% to 25% and from 17% to 14%. The margin of decline forinterest in keeping exotic pets was only 3%.

Before being informed

Interest inpetting
exotic pets

Interest in
havingexotic pets

33%

are interested inpetting(yes or yes to a certain degree)

After being informed

25%

are interested inpetting(yes or yes to a certain degree)(N=1000)

17%

are interested inhaving/continuing
to have as pets

(yes or yes to a certain degree)

14%

are interested inhaving/continuing
to have as pets

(yes or yes to a certain degree)(N=1000)

CONCLUSIONSThe survey revealed that although awareness on the issues around exotic pets is low
amongst Japanese citizens, once they are informed, as many as 95% would consider
these issues as problems and demand stronger regulations. Conversely, potentialconsumers, particularly those belonging to younger age groups, had a tendency to notchange their interest in having exotic pets by simply being informed. These results
suggest that the following actions are needed to address the issues associated withexotic pet use in Japan:● Policy efforts for a swift introduction of adequate regulations;● Raising public awareness to foster the social norms;● Social behavior change communications targeting potential consumers;● Improving businesses involved in trade and display of animals.
WWF will work together with a wide range of stakeholders to achieve these changes.

Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use in Japan 2021

8Opinion Survey on Exotic Pet Use
in Japan 2021
95%
expressed thatstronger
regulations areneeded

68%
unaware of issues
associated withexotic pets

17%
interested in having
exotic pets

33%
interested inpetting exotic pets

© NASAFor contact details and further information please visit WWF Japan’s website atwww.wwf.or.jp

wwf.or.jp© 1986 Panda symbol WWF – World Wide Fund For Nature (Formerly World Wildlife Fund)® “WWF” is a WWF Registered Trademark. WWF, Rue Mauverney 28,1196 Gland, Switzerland – Tel. +41 22 364 9111; Fax. +41 22 364 0332.