Editing Ocelot (section)

== Threats ==
[[File:Taxidermy of Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis).jpg|thumb|Ocelot skin]]
Throughout its range, the ocelot is threatened by [[habitat loss|loss]] and fragmentation of habitat.<ref name=iucn /> In Texas, the fertile land that supports dense cover and constitutes the optimum habitat for the ocelot is being lost to agriculture. The habitat is often fragmented into small pockets that cannot support ocelots well, leading to deaths due to starvation. Traffic accidents have emerged as a major threat over the years, as ocelots try to expand beyond their natural habitat to new areas and get hit by vehicles.<ref name=report>{{cite report |author=Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Diversity Branch |title=Ocelot |publisher=[[Texas Parks and Wildlife Department]] |location=Austin, Texas |date=n.d. |pages=1–3 |url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0013_ocelot.pdf}}</ref> In the [[Atlantic Forest]] in northeastern Argentina, it is affected by [[logging]] and [[poaching]] of prey species.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Di Bitetti, M.S. |author2=De Angelo, C.D. |author3=Di Blanco, Y. E. |author4=Paviolo, A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2010 |title=Niche partitioning and species coexistence in a Neotropical felid assemblage |journal=Acta Oecologica |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=403–412 |doi=10.1016/j.actao.2010.04.001 |url=http://www.academia.edu/download/33472764/Di_Bitetti_et_al_2010_ACTOEC2632.pdf|bibcode=2010AcO....36..403D }}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The [[fur trade]] was a flourishing business in the 1960s and the 1970s that resulted in severe exploitation of felids such as the ocelot and the jaguar.<ref name=furtrade>{{cite book |last1=Loveridge |first1=A. J. |last2=Wang|first2=S. W. |last3=Frank|first3=L. G. |last4= Seidensticker|first4= J. |name-list-style=amp |chapter=People and wild felids: conservation of cats and management of conflicts |year=2010 |title=Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids |pages=161–190 |editor1-last=Macdonald |editor1-first=D. W. |editor2-last=Loveridge |editor2-first=A. J.|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-923445-5 |chapter-url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11074/nzp_Loveridge_et_al_Macdonald__Chapter_6.pdf}}</ref> In the 1960s, ocelot skins were among the most highly preferred in the US, reaching an all-time high of 140,000 skins traded in 1970.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McMahan |first1=L. R. |editor1-last=Miller |editor1-first=S. D. |editor2-last=Everett |editor2-first=D. D. |title=Cats of the World: Biology, Conservation, and Management |date=1986 |publisher=National Wildlife Federation |location=Washington D. C. |isbn=978-0-912186-78-8 |pages=461–488 |chapter=The international cat trade}}</ref> This was followed by prohibitions on commercial trade of spotted cat skins in several [[range state]]s such as Brazil and the US, causing ocelot skins in trade to plummet.<ref name=furtrade/> In 1986, the [[European Economic Community]] banned import of ocelot skins, and in 1989, the ocelot was included in [[CITES Appendix I|Appendix I]] of the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]]. However, hunting of ocelots for skins has continued and is still a major threat to ocelot survival.<ref name=Sunquist/>

Another threat has been the international [[pet trade]]; this typically involves capturing ocelot kittens by killing their mothers; these cats are then sold to tourists. Though it is banned in several countries, pet trade survives; in some areas of Central and South America, ocelots are still sold in a few local markets.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Graham, K. |year=2017 |title=International Intent and Domestic Application of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): The Case of the Ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') |journal=Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy |volume=20 |issue=3–4 |pages=253–294 |doi=10.1080/13880292.2017.1403797 |s2cid=89746431}}</ref>