Exotics of all types have always been big theft targets. There was a pet store a few years ago that had some junkies break in to steal the exotic birds, they didn't know if the metal quarantine tags identified the birds or their owners so they simply cut that foot off of each stolen bird and then tried to pawn them off on CL. Some of the parrot magazines have reported for years about cases were someone heard a parrot while walking down the street and then came back just for it, leaving the rest of the house alone. How many threads have we seen on forums about stolen snake collections?

High end dog breeders have less to worry about because of chipping, dna registries, etc. and unlike snakes they tend to screen perspective buyers to make sure they're going to be good for the dog. Meaning background checks, interviews of family & friends & employers, checking THEIR house to make sure it would be a good environment ahead of time. My family has gone through that process before with dogs and they even try to keep track of the line after-sale. We had one breeder [we're talking a couple doing it as a personal small business and not some giant commercial farm] said they'd turned down & blacklisted buyers for using the "wrong" brand of dog food.