Shark cartilage and whole‑dried shark products have grown in popularity as pet snacks in Thailand. A team of researchers based at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology in Bangkok investigated this pet treat trend. The researchers identified eight species of shark, more than half of which face conservation challenges and are protected under international trade regulations.
“The findings emphasize the need to strengthen the monitoring and enforcement of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)-listed sharks, improve traceability and transparency in the supply chain, and regulate the online market for shark-based pet snacks,” the researchers write in a study published in the journal Biological Conservation.
The authors combined DNA barcoding of 150 cartilage products and 60 whole‑dried shark products with an online market survey of e‑commerce shops.
Among the cartilage products, 91% were identifiable at the species level, revealing eight shark species present. The two most common were the brown-banded bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) and the Australian blackspot shark (Carcharhinus coatesi), together accounting for 63.2% of the samples. Of these species, 61.8% are classified as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List; 0.7% were Endangered, 5.2% Vulnerable. What’s more, 67.7% were listed under the CITES Appendix II, meaning their international trade is regulated.
All whole‑dried shark products analyzed were identified as Pacific spadenose shark (Scoliodon macrorhynchos), listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN and included in CITES Appendix II.
In e‑commerce, cartilage‑based products outnumbered whole‑dried shark products (62–65% vs. 35–38% of shops). The number of online shark-based pet snack vendors grew from 122 in the early 2024 survey to 149 in the mid‑2025 survey. Sales volume increased in the majority of shops active across survey periods (75 % of cartilage‑product vendors, 96 % of whole‑dried shark vendors). The upward trend in online vendor numbers and increasing sales volumes suggests rising demand for shark-derived pet snacks and potential additional pressure on shark populations, if supply is not managed responsibly.
The researchers found no correlation between product price and sales volume, possibly related to consumers’ perception of sharks as functional ingredients for pets’ health.
The study authors noted that most shark-based pet snacks lacked species-specific labelling, origin information, manufacturer details or catch location data.
The study provided empirical evidence that shark cartilage and whole‑dried shark products used as pet snacks in Thailand involve multiple shark species, a majority of which are CITES‑listed and/or under conservation concern according to the IUCN Red List. The combination of rising online availability, weak traceability and growing sales volumes may present a supply chain traceability risk for pet food producers in Southeast Asia.
Explanation of CITES and IUCN frameworks
CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and serves as a multilateral treaty to ensure that international wildlife trade does not threaten species’ survival in the wild. Under CITES, species are grouped into appendices.
- Appendix I: Species threatened with extinction; commercial trade generally prohibited.
- Appendix II: Species not necessarily threatened with extinction now, but may become so unless trade is strictly regulated; trade permitted with export permits.
- Appendix III: Species protected in at least one country which has asked other parties for assistance.
When a species appears on Appendix II, each export from a party must be accompanied by a permit verifying that the export will not be detrimental to the species’ survival (so‑called “non‑detriment finding”) and that the specimen was legally acquired.
IUCN Red List is maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it provides a global assessment of the conservation status of species. IUCN Red List Categories include: Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, Extinct. These categories are determined through standardized criteria such as rate of population decline, size of geographic range, and degree of fragmentation or threat. The Red List is widely used by governments, NGOs and businesses to inform conservation priorities, but listing does not itself regulate trade. That is the role of CITES, national legislation and other mechanisms.
