A character in a Disney sequel is encouraging Chinese consumers to buy dangerous live snakes as pets, Sixth Tone reports. The trend raises public safety concerns and exposes regulatory loopholes in online wildlife sales.
What happened?
Gary, the blue snake, was a breakout character in “Zootopia 2.” After the film was released at the end of November, it prompted Chinese fans to search for the real blue Indonesian viper. As demand surges in several online marketplaces, prices on e-commerce platforms have climbed to $420 per snake, Sixth Tone reported.
The Shanghai Paper reported on this phenomenon. It found sellers offering live venomous reptiles through lifestyle apps and second-hand trading platforms. Vendors instruct buyers to obtain protective gear, including specialized hooks, gloves and extended tweezers, before handling purchased items.
Bites from these reptiles can cause severe tissue damage, severe swelling, and severe pain, requiring immediate medical attention. Wu Fenghu, a lawyer at the Shanghai branch of Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, pointed out that transporting live animals violates the current postal law.
“The power of a good movie is extraordinary. It truly changed my perspective on snakes, animals I used to be afraid of and prejudiced against,” Sixth Tone’s article quoted one online commenter as saying.
Why is this trend important?
While it’s good to learn not to be afraid of snakes, impulsively buying wild animals undermines efforts to keep humans and natural ecosystems safe.
Trends that treat animals as commodities could harm conservation efforts, and China lacks native populations of Indonesian venomous snakes. Escaped or released specimens may establish breeding populations that harm local native species.
Similar tourism-related incidents have endangered wildlife such as kangaroos in other countries. These events demonstrate that human choices can have profound ecological consequences.
Wu described the wave of purchases of these venomous snakes as creating a “significant public safety risk.” It also exposed weaknesses in online platform monitoring, transport enforcement and regulatory frameworks.
What are we doing about dangerous pet trends?
Xiaohongshu and Douyin have now banned the trading of wild and venomous animals on their platforms. Sixth Tone said it has threatened to terminate offending accounts. Within days of the initial reports, most Viper listings had disappeared from major retail platforms.
Other movies have had a strong impact on audience behavior. Blockbusters like “Furiosa” have earned recognition for tackling important global phenomena. Researchers develop tools to assess how Hollywood depicts important issues.
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