Many species are illegal in the United Kingdom, often due to the danger they may pose to other people or because of the animal's conservation status in the wild.

Ever since a woman wearing a leopard skin coat was attacked by a pet lion, there have been tight controls on keeping wild animals at home. Under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, owners of more exotic pets have needed a special licence, even if they are relatively safe animals.

Alongside rabbits and kittens, pet shops are selling more exotic animals including mangrove snakes, North American porcupines and Brazilian wolf spiders. Animals still considered too dangerous to keep without a licence include baboons, giant armadillos, pumas, dingos, the Middle Eastern thin-tailed scorpion and the Argentine black-headed snake.

The main problem is that acquiring a licence is not as hard as it should be and that more rigorous checks need to be put into place.

Until now owners had to pay anything between £100 and £1,000 in licence fees to their local council for any animal listed under the act. On the website for Licence information for keeping exotic pets, it states that “Current Licence fee of £50 + vets or specialists fees. Applicants are expected to show an in depth knowledge of their subject.” It seems it is all too easy to obtain a licence or permit and with millions of people across the world seeking more exotic pets the suffering of these animals is likely to get worse.