Upon visiting the East Coast Exotic Animal Rescue, I was excited to view and learn about all the animals, expecting the rescue to be a form of the rehabilitation center. I quickly discovered that the wild and exotic animals kept at the rescue were not there for rehabilitation, but instead were using the rescue center as a safe haven from the exotic pet trade. The animals there, although now happily situated, did not always have such stable lives. The animals were sold illegally through the black market, kept in small bird cages, and were forced to breed. For these animals, the lives they know now are very different from the dark lives they once knew through the expense of this trade.