Animal Underworld: Inside America's Black Market for Rare and Exotic Species (Hardcover)

by Alan Green (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Zoos are places where animals are protected, kept safe from the ravages of the outside world and sheltered from extinction, right? Not necessarily, writes investigative reporter Alan Green, who takes his readers behind the bars in Animal Underworld to tell an unsettling tale of deception and cruelty.

That story opens at a zoo in northern Virginia, one of many such places around the United States in which black bears, once an exotic sight, have become a too-common commodity. Baby bears bring crowds, Green writes; unruly juveniles and listless adults do not. What happens to the bears who cannot contribute to the zoo's overhead? Animal sanctuaries are already overfull; individuals are not allowed to keep bears as pets without hard-to-obtain licenses; and bears raised in cages do not know how to fend for themselves in the wild. There is simply no place for them, Green writes, and the bears have economic worth only for their parts--the claws for jewelry, the flesh for restaurants, the paws for Asian apothecaries.

The nefarious means by which supposedly protected animals--many in danger of disappearing in the wild--are brought to market forms the heart of Green's disturbing report. Some of the country's most important zoos and museums turn up as villains in his pages, and readers will likely never visit such places again without wondering at the fate of the creatures that look out at them from the other side of the cage. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly
In a shocking and heartbreaking expos?, Green examines the fate of unwanted animals cast off by U.S. zoos and theme parks. Many of the nation's leading zoos, he reports, sell their unwanted animalsAwhether surplus, aging and decrepit, or babies bred for saleAto supposedly reputable dealers who, in turn, dump the animals onto roadside attractions, unaccredited petting zoos, private hunting parks and bogus sanctuaries that will hand over endangered species to anyone for a buck. Using easily doctored documents, the animals are laundered into obscurity, shunted from opportunistic breeders to wretched menageries, auctioneers, backyard hobbyists and even university research centers. Many of these animals, according to Green, suffer cruel abuse, mistreatment or fatal neglect; some end up as exotic meat on the grocery shelf. He also argues that zoos ignore their own edict by permitting animals to migrate almost uncontrollably into the hands of unaccredited institutions. Working with the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, Green crisscrossed the country, combing thousands of health certificates and interviewing hundreds of people. He tracked smugglers and poachers who traffic in rare species disappearing from their native habitats, which are then sold to "exotic pet" owners. He takes aim particularly at the thousands of Americans who keep dangerous pets like tigers or cougars, inviting human tragedies. A major feat of investigative reporting, this book spells out sensible strategies to clean up this unholy mess, including a proposal that zoos should provide cradle-to-grave care to their denizens. Green's important, eye-opening report could spark a national debate. Photos. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs; 1 edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620282
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620287
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #322,668 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brutal, but fair and insightful!, October 7, 1999

By	A concerned citizen (Bergenfield, NJ) - See all my reviews

Bravo, Mr. Green! This meticulously researched book cuts right to the heart of the incredibly cruel and profitable trade in exotic species in the U.S. Although it's tough reading at times, this brutal but fair account rips the lid off a trade which can only exist if all parties conspire to look the other way regarding the origin and disposition of these unfortunate animals as they wend their way though the system. This book is SURE to ruffle more than a few feathers - particularly among those whose very livelihood depends on keeping this trade hidden from public view.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, November 28, 1999

By	Christina Zuccaro (Northern Marianna Islands) - See all my reviews

I just couldn't believe what I was reading. Now when I hear of new births at zoos, most recently a gorilla in D.C., I feel helpless. I just had this little fantasy going about the zoos and what can I say after reading Mr. Green's book except that Tinkerbell is dead. I need to know this information not as an aniamal rights activist, which i'm not, but as a human being.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Only Good Pet Monkey is a Pet Sea Monkey, January 16, 2004

By	Mary Esterhammer-Fic (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

There is no doubt that there is a huge, lucrative, underground trade in exotics, and that many of the people involved in it are unethical scumbags. Of course, not ALL individuals who own exotic pets are nasty: some of them are conscientious and care enough to be well-informed about the species they choose to own.

But the author of this book provides an important service to the public. Green sheds light into the dark corners of the exotics business, part of which involves shuffling zoo and research animals to canned hunt facilities or roadside petting zoos. It all works through middlemen who assure legitimate keepers that their surplus animals are going to qualified handlers, when in fact they are often laundered through pet auctions or given to animal collectors who abandon them at the first sign of difficult behavior or ill health.

Take monkeys and apes. They're cute and smart, but mishandling can create a strong, deranged primate that will pose very real risks to anyone not familiar with their needs. Also, they harbor all kinds of diseases that are a direct threat to public health, and some that haven't jumped the species barrier yet but, in the future, may do so. Hardly any sanctuaries exist that can care for them once they are no longer needed for research or public display. What should we, as a society that frowns on animal cruelty, do for them?

Anyone who is interested in exotics, animal-based research, or even visiting the zoo should read this book. Yes, Green almost exclusively discusses the creepy side of the issue. But he also describes some very ethically-run sancutaries and some individuals in the zoo and research sectors who truly care for their charges' welfare.

As for owning exotic pets, I personally think there are some people who actually are qualified to do so. Who decides those qualifications? That's another issue. Also, "exotics" include everything from hedgehogs and sugar gliders to tigers and the great apes. I've owned the former two, and found them to be sweet little companion animals. (But if someone offered me a giraffe, I'm afraid I would have to decline.) Not all exotics are totally inappropriate for all people. But some exotics are totally inappropriate for most people.

I do think that certain surplus zoo animals should be euthanized rather than forced to live out their remaining years in misery. I also think that the surplus itself should be examined: why aren't certain species more aggressively sterilized? And, I think all zoo and research animals should be microchipped so that they can be tracked once they leave their original home.

Green isn't afraid to name names and cite specific examples of cruelty. I know there are readers who are angry about what he wrote, and dispute his findings, but they haven't countered with any specifics that undermine this book. If any of his critics can prove that the incidents Green discusses didn't happen, then I'd like to hear about it.