It's Basically Legal for Mexicans to Buy Lions, Cheetahs, and Other Exotic Pets Duncan Tucker - VICE News
go to original September 3, 2015

Anyone can keep exotic animals under Mexican law - but they must come from breeders accredited by the Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources. (LIBERO Wildlife Sanctuary)

Beyond the stalls lined with love potions and Santa Muerte statuettes, Mexico City's labyrinth-like Sonora market houses thousands of caged animals.

Rows of visibly distressed kittens, puppies, piglets, lambs, goats, and giant rabbits are crammed into the tiniest of cells. Alongside them are tanks containing iguanas, turtles, piranhas, and enormous toads used for witchcraft, plus a huge variety of caged birds, including canaries, turkeys, and peacocks.

But the most exotic animals for sale are those hidden from view.

"The Sonora market is the nucleus of animal-trafficking in Mexico City," Dr. Leonora Esquivel, cofounder of the animal rights group AnimaNaturalis Mexico, told VICE News. "You can find any kind of animal there. They aren't all exhibited but if you have the contacts you can get toucans, monkeys, lions, etc."

Read the rest at VICE News

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