The unsupported claim that ‘Global online trade is driving poison dart frogs (family: Dendrobatidae) towards extinction’

The global trade in threatened species for pets can impact wild populations, yet demonstrating this relationship requires careful analysis and interpretation. Junaid (2024) explored the role of online trade in poison dart frogs (family: Dendrobatidae) but drew unsupported conclusions, misrepresenting trade impacts. Here, we reanalyse Junaid’s data, supplemented with additional websites, and show that most traded poison frogs originate from captive breeding or sustainable biocommerce sources, not wild harvests. Furthermore, Junaid’s methodology lacked metadata and reproducibility standards, undermining its conclusions. Though captive breeding and biocommerce operations are increasingly common, we stress the need for increased population monitoring and population viability analyses for species that continue to be harvested from the wild. Contrary to Junaid’s conclusions, online trade is not driving poison frogs to extinction and can even have conservation benefits when sustainable practices are used to meet demand.

全球受威胁物种的宠物贸易可能对野生种群造成负面影响，但要证实这一关联，需开展严谨的分析与解读。朱奈德（Junaid，2024）曾探讨线上贸易在箭毒蛙（箭毒蛙科，Dendrobatidae）贸易中的作用，但其得出的结论缺乏实证支撑，且歪曲了贸易的实际影响。本文重新分析了朱奈德的数据集，并补充了其他相关网站的交易数据，结果显示，多数交易的箭毒蛙均源自人工繁育或可持续生物贸易渠道，而非野外捕获。此外，朱奈德的研究方法未提供元数据（metadata）与可重复性标准，削弱了其结论的可信度。尽管人工繁育与生物贸易模式愈发普及，但我们仍强调，对于仍存在野外捕获行为的物种，需加强种群监测与种群生存力分析（population viability analyses）。与朱奈德的研究结论相悖，线上贸易并未推动箭毒蛙走向灭绝；若采用可持续模式满足市场需求，甚至可产生保育效益。