Cynops exports

[kwksand]

We've read about the enormous exportation of fire belly newts from east Asia, and I think we all generally agree that harvesting large numbers of long-lived species from the wild is not a good idea. However, it has been years since I've seen newts for sale at a pet store (especially Japanese species). In Alabama and Ohio, I regularly visit pet shops of all shapes and sizes. In the 1980's through the mid 1990's, it seemed these newts were everywhere. Even Kmart sold them. So the question is, does anyone have a feel for the trend of this trade? Has demand decreased in the U.S.? Has the wild supply become limited? Do other areas (Europe, California, East Coast) still import large numbers of wild caught Cynops? Got numbers?

 

[FrogEyes]

Japanese species are still exported regularly. I just got some C.sp. Tohoku, C.sp. Kanto, and skipped the C.e.popei which I already have. Echinotriton andersoni is sometimes available too, but it's expensive. I think Japanese animals cost a bit more than the Chinese species, while the latter are shipped en masse by fish exporters. For the pet trade, "cheap, and shipped cheaper [with fish]" is a driving factor and the Japanese species are only sourced occasionally in North America through herp importers, who are also faced with the pet trade realities - most retail customers don't care what species, as long as it's the cheapest. Specialty exports from China, however, don't cost any less, which is why you see lots of Paramesotriton chinensis [fish trade] but not P.caudopunctatus [herp trade].

 

[corientalis]

In Hungary there is no serious change in the availability of cynops species: practically only C. o. is available nowdays as always. This species can be found in most pet shops in the capital at least, all imported (except my few captive bred juvs, haha). There is no real caudata keeping culture here, so I don't think that shops will want to increase their import quantity. However decreasing of it is also unlikely according to the seemingly stable (relatively low compared to other easily maintainable herps) demand of them. Or at least that's what I think based on what I see.
Newt species (mostly C. o.-s, axolotls, and ribbed newts are available here) have a special circle of keepers here: young people who saw them in the shop, fell in love with them and bought them, even they hadn't read anything about them before. I know this kind of keepers are all over the world and related to any kinds of captive animals, but I feel that in Hungary there are very few people who take their purchase and keeping as serious as some "more serious" pets like ball pythons or bearded dragons. Most potential competent keepers usually chose other species which they see more interesting, so the building up of a caudata keeping culture just like yours will be very slow, that's why I think the import quantity of this species will be stagnant here for the next few years.