Shadowy exotic pet trade thrives in Pacific island nation

HONIARA, Solomon Islands: The Pacific’s Solomon Islands has become a key player in the global live animal trade, with foreign collectors sourcing exotic species including some subject to trade bans, an AFP investigation has found. Conservationist testimony, official documents and UN data show native Solomon Islands lizards being shipped to the United States, wild birds plucked from verdant rainforests and sent to the Middle East, and dolphins destined for Chinese aquariums. Some wild animals can be captured and sold legally, but the trade in vulnerable species is governed by strict rules or even bans. That has not stopped traders keen…