WET MARKET - Spread of exotic animals in Italy and their trade. Approximately 500 million wild and exotic animals in Europe, of which 3 million in Italy alone, are kept in captivity as pets. The demand for exotic animals as ‘pets’ is one of the main drivers of the illegal trade in these animals. It's estimated that in 2021, 17.5 million exotic pets will live in the homes of Italians. The demand for exotic pets is very heterogeneous worldwide; the United States and China are the main importers, closely followed by the European Union. Germany and France follow with about 12.5 million and Spain with 11 million. CITES, in its World Wildlife Trade Report, has reported a number of cases where trade has led to accidental or deliberate releases of wild animals outside the species' natural range. According to the researchers, the desire to possess an exotic animal soon leads to difficulties in managing the specimen, often resulting in its careless and dangerous release into the wild, with the result of having introduced an alien species into an already sufficiently fragile ecosystem. Throughout Italy, two organizations, largely made up of activists and volunteers, deal with these critical issues: the WWF volunteer guard units, which monitor the territory to prevent poaching, and the CRAS (wild animal recovery centers), which take care of injured specimens and reintroduce them into the wild, when possible, or entrust them to care facilities.