Colonial debts: the case of Puerto Rico

Abstract

forest or sea, to transport in clandestine containers, to clearinghouses and into our living rooms. That people do violently extractive things to turn a profit is surely disturbing to no one at this point. What is provocative and gut wrenching about this book is that it compels us to turn the lens on ourselves. As animal “lovers” who have chirped “hello!” at a parrot in a pet store, taken photos with captive monkeys on vacation, carried home a turtle in a box, kept hermit grabs (guilty as charged!) or enjoyed the “beauty” of a salt water fish tank, we are forced to face our own roles in the tangled webs of the exotic animal trade. Collard shocks and horrifies us, as she should, with disturbing statistics and descriptions of awful conditions that animals endure, the many animals who die in transit, and the reality that many survivors also die within a year of reaching their new “homes”. She makes it clear that as responsible humans (and scholars?) we must look behind the curtain and learn about animals’ forgotten histories, double fetishization, related death and destruction and compelling wild alternatives. In the end, Collard brings the book home in both senses, detailing an emotional response she had when learning of an escaped (banned) serval on Vancouver Island. The story ended poorly but the bigger picture is that the serval had made it to its final exotic pet destination and had also tasted brief freedom before being killed by a truck, representing a longer and likely better life than many animals who have moved along the belts of the exotic pet trade. If you like reading or teaching about commodity tracking/tracing that leads all the way back to main sources of demand (the US and UK in this case), political ecologies of conservation, learning about unique pockets of consumption-related human existence or being informed about our (generally pretty awful) relationships with non-human species, this book is for you. If you are interested in animal welfare and imagining kinder relations with more-than-humans, this book will inspire. Collard packs a lot of insights into the less-than -200 pages, representing sharp research and storytelling skills. But, before you travel to the depths of the exotic animal trade with Collard and her keen analyses, know that it will forever change how you gaze upon a saltwater fish tank or pet store parrot display, if you have not yet peeked behind the exotic pet trade curtain.