Mexico's Exotic Pet Trade

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Sociopolitical Documentary hosted by Anja Popp, published by Channel 4 broadcasted as part of CH4 Unreported World series in 2023 - English narration

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Anja Popp goes inside Mexico's illicit exotic pet trade, investigating how owning a lion or tiger has gone from being the indulgence of drug lords to a mainstream obsession. The Mexican state of Sinaloa is home to the notorious Sinaloa cartel. Exotic pets have become a trapping of Mexico's wealthy elite here, in what has become the world's fourth largest illegal trade after drugs, guns and people trafficking.

Popp meets Jesus, who built a house in uptown Culiacan around his young tigers Simba and Nala, but as they grew up, they became riskier to manage. Jesus bought his tigers legally, but lax law enforcement means that many people don't. And it becomes clear that pet owners across Mexico have bitten off more than they can chew, with many resorting to extreme medical practices to make their dangerous pets less dangerous.

At a pet sanctuary on the outskirts of Culiacan, Popp discovers hundreds of big cats rescued from the illicit market. In Mexico City, she meets a smuggler who claims that corruption is making their job all too easy.