To ensure that the global trade in amphibians is not threatening a species, Monitor Conservation Research Society studies this trade and highlights potential conservation concerns and legal issues. Previous studies for instance included work on the trade in amphibians endemic to the Nansei Islands (Japan). For amphibians, 45 species of frogs and toads and 33 species of salamanders and newts are known to occur in Japan, with at least 62 being endemic. This high rate of endemism makes Japanese amphibians popular targets for wildlife traffickers. Monitor found two endemic subspecies of Sword-tailed Newt, Cynops ensicauda ensicauda and Cynops e. popei, Anderson’s Crocodile Newt Echinotriton andersoni and Miyako Toad Bufo gargarizans miyakonis available in the international pet markets. The Anderson’s Crocodile Newt is protected under Japanese legislation. Currently Monitor is preparing a large programme of work on the trade in amphibians in Southeast Asia. This will include on the ground market surveys, online surveys, legislative reviews, trade data and seizure data analysis and reviews of the biological impact of harvest quota.
