Germans flock to adopt ants as pets

Germans flock to adopt ants as pets

Hard up Germans are opting for the ultimate in low maintenance pets in hard times - ants. The craze was highlighted at this month's Interzoo 2004, a Nuremberg trade fair devoted to the pet trade. The trade-only four-day fair in the German city attracted more than 1,100 exhibitors, mainly from Germany, the US, Italy and China.

Luxury items like dog toothpaste and pet sofas were still selling well at the top end of the market but ant colonies were the new pet of choice in the bargain basement.

Spurred on by recent changes in the law that now forbids Germans to destroy ant nests in the wild - and in their own gardens - people have discovered a new passion for them in increasing numbers.

Large terrarium-style habitats which are big enough to accommodate entire ant colonies - but still small enough to fit on a coffee table - are all the rage. There is even one German pet shop specialising exclusively in ants.

"People are realising that a pet doesn't have to be a puppy or a kitten or a fish," says Martin Sebesta, proprietor of the The Ant Store in Berlin.

"Ants are much easier to care for than a cat, for example. They don't eat much, they don't smell, they don't make any noise, they are fastidiously clean and - best of all - they are fascinating creatures.

"I defy anybody to resist watching ants at work. You think you've just been watching them 10 minutes and then look at the clock and realise a couple of hours have gone by."

Sebesta stocks about 30 species of ants, ranging in price from £7 for a colony of common German carpenter ants to £700 for a colony of exotic Australian bulldog ants.