Dangerous Trade: Exotic Animals

CNBC'S "DANGEROUS TRADE: EXOTIC ANIMALS" WILL PREMIERE ON MONDAY, MAY 21ST

Exotic animals are at the center of a multi-billion dollar business, where even legitimate sales can lead to tragic consequences.

The threat of vicious animals on the loose and the tragedy in Zanesville, Ohio, where fifty-six exotic animals were released by their owner, is just the beginning.

While the thought of people owning dangerous pets is troubling, it is just one part of the issue.

CNBC’s Brian Shactman takes you inside the underground world of the illegal wildlife trade to meet law enforcement on the front lines.

In this black market worth an estimated $10 billion dollars worldwide, animals are butchered for their most valuable parts and brazen smugglers will stop at nothing to get rich.

Greed fuels a thriving black market that’s putting rare animals in peril.

But some say the greatest fear may be the unknown; legal or not, the exotic animal trade has some experts very concerned about deadly strains of diseases that could cross over into the human population.

Published: Tuesday, 8 May 2012 | 10:32 AM ET

By: Erin Kitzie

Monday, 5/21/2012:

9:00 PM DANGEROUS TRADE: EXOTIC ANIMALS (30 Minutes)

12:00 AM DANGEROUS TRADE: EXOTIC ANIMALS (30 Minutes)

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47266319?__source=ft&par=ft