The challenge of attaining conservation outcomes in a complex system : agency personnel’s and academic researchers’ perspectives on the wicked problem of the exotic pet trade

Abstract

The exotic pet trade is a wicked problem involving economic, social, political, ethical, and environmental dimensions, which cannot be resolved using conventional management strategies that are informed by restricted expertise. In 2023, we surveyed 26 government agency personnel and 57 academic researchers in the United States who focus on the risks of the exotic pet trade to ascertain how experts characterize the wicked problem of the exotic pet trade and their support for conventional versus collaborative management of the trade. Both academic and agency respondents framed the ecological risks associated with the exotic pet trade similarly, expressing greatest concern about species invasions and pathogen transmission to native species. Respondents exhibited low levels of trust in stakeholders in the exotic pet trade, considering it likely that all stakeholders (except the commercial industry) would fail to comply with pet trade regulations. Agency respondents tended to agree that current regulations have been effective in mitigating invasion risks while academic respondents disagreed that current regulations adequately mitigate the invasion and disease risks of the pet trade or overexploitation of species. Agency respondents were more likely to agree that regulations are enforceable. All respondents were supportive of additional federal regulations of the exotic pet trade. Our findings are consistent with the argument that wicked problems are perpetuated because managers and scientists default to conventional cause-effect problem statements and top-down management approaches that focus on management structure and execution. Transitioning from top-down regulatory approaches to collaborative decision making, in which agencies, scientists, and exotic pet trade stakeholders work together to resolve the wicked problem of the exotic pet trade, would build trust and allow for flexible, adaptive management of the trade.