In 2024, AAP (Animal Advocacy and Protection) rescued 82 exotic mammals from often horrible situations. This means an increase of over 20% compared to the 68 animals rescued in 2023 that now have a better future in one of AAP’s two rescue centres.
Most animals rescued in 2024 were living with private owners as exotic pets, such as servals, sugar gliders and degus. Other rescued animals included big cats previously used in circuses, such as the three lions and nine cubs from France, and wild animals that were illegally traded.
Most animals rescued in 2024 were living with private owners as exotic pets, such as servals, sugar gliders and degus. Other rescued animals included big cats previously used in circuses, such as the three lions and nine cubs from France, and wild animals that were illegally traded.
A new future
More than half of the animals were rescued in the Netherlands; the others came from six different European countries. At the same time, we were able to find forever homes around the world for 108 previously rescued and now habilitated animals. At the end of 2024, 374 exotic animals remained at AAP’s Dutch and Spanish rescue centres; 50 fewer than at the beginning of the year.
More sugar gliders
In total, we received rescue requests and alerts concerning 1,478 animals in need in 2024, which is more than a 25% increase from 2023. The majority of alerts (over 58%) were about small mammals such as degus, prairie dogs and the increasingly popular sugar gliders. As many as 87 of these nocturnal animals were reported, compared to far fewer in the years before. Sugar gliders appear often on video platforms such as TikTok because of their ability to ‘glide’ in the sky, but these animals are very unsuitable as pets.The remaining rescue requests and alerts concerned primates (almost 19%), larger mammals such as servals, raccoons and caracals (15%) and big cats – including lions and leopards (7%).

Positive List
On 1 July 2024, the Dutch Positive List of Pets and Hobby Animals came into force. This list ensures that most wild mammal species, for which rescue is often requested, can no longer be bought and bred by private owners. Animals not on the list but already in possession on 1 July 2024 can stay with their owners until the end of the animal’s life. In 2023, AAP received 206 alerts about exotic pets kept in the Netherlands, in 2024 that number slightly increased to 234. This number is expected to decrease as the last generation of popular but unsuitable species disappears from living rooms.With this success in the Netherlands, AAP will continue to advocate for responsible pet ownership throughout the EU. We urge governments to implement regulatory instruments that allow for the keeping of only those animal species that can thrive in captivity, and don’t pose a threat to public health and safety, or the environment. Big EU-member states like Spain and France already adopted legislation making this possible, but we need them to implement and enforce regulations to effectively stop the suffering of unsuitable exotic pets.