Pythons: Some 3.7 million pythons and python items were legally imported to the U.S. from 2005 through 2014. Products made from Burmese pythons and reticulated pythons, such as the one pictured, were especially common.
Snakes, Sharks, and Other Wild Animals Americans Want
On World Wildlife Day, see the most popular wildlife and wildlife products imported to the U.S. for human use.
Every year Americans legally import millions of wild animals and wildlife products. Sometimes they’re live animals destined for zoos. Sometimes they’re trophies from hunts or intended for scientific purposes. But overwhelmingly, they’re for the commercial trade—coats, shoes, wallets, jewelry, and exotic pets. Some are bred in captivity. Some are taken from the wild. Here are some of the animals imported in the greatest numbers in recent years.
But another top species was the Nile crocodile, which was hunted to near extinction by the 1960s. It’s numbers have rebounded, but the commercial trade in wild-caught Nile crocs remains prohibited or tightly regulated in most countries. Most imported Nile crocodile products come from farmed animals in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Style
