On a stall near Doncaster racecourse sit dozens of small containers full of colorful leopard geckos, while two iguanas on sale for roughly $1,600 each are in an enclosure, thousands of miles distant from the natural habitat of Central and South America's humid and tropical forests.
Mirror's Environment Editor Nada Farhoud reported as she stood that she saw a table containing more than 30 pythons "squeezed into a small plastic box, just a portion of their size.
After 2 years of campaigning for @DoncasterRaces to stop hosting one of the UK's last reptile markets, they've listened. We worked with @NadaFarhoud @DailyMirror and @Animallawyersuk undercover at the event to expose cruel treatment of animals at the show. https://t.co/U1y9OdJOpl
— World Animal Protection UK (@MoveTheWorldUK) April 8, 2022
In her report, the editor said she'd early queued in the cold alongside hundreds of reptile enthusiasts, mostly men who wore black hoodies, to enter the event organized by the International Herpetological Society four times each year been held at the racecourse for the past 20 years.
Farhoud described the event as a "no ordinary shopping trip." Here, 100 stalls were flogging an array of exotic creatures that ranged from tens to thousands of pounds at the venue, home to one of the last and largest reptile markets in the United Kingdom, attracting up to five thousand visitors.
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Snake breeder Ken Gubersky of Canada holds a Ball Python for visitors to see at the Hong Kong International Reptile Expo in July 2010.
Hundreds of Reptiles on Sale
According to the World Animal Protection, the hundreds of reptiles on sale, including ball python snakes, are suffering unnecessary cruelty after being crammed into tiny boxes and put up for sale.
The animal welfare organization explained that the shy and nocturnal animals, considered famous exotic pets in the UK, were deprived of space to move properly. They are being subjected as well too loud noises and bright lights.
Wildlife Campaigns Manager Charlotte Regan said that the conditions in which ball pythons and other reptiles "are kept in at the Doncaster reptile market are unacceptable." They also fly in the face of everything known about their welfare needs.
She added ball pythons are sentient wild animals that feel fear, pain, distress, excitement, and pleasure. She continued that they are not products and should not be kept in conditions causing them to suffer.
Exotic Pet Shops
In 2018, the Independent reported that according to conservationists, many exotic species sold in pet stores "were not bred in captivity" as required by international law, although they were plucked from forests and rivers.
Exotic amphibians and reptiles started to surge in popularity during the early 1990s, not just in the United States but also in other nations like Japan and Europe.
From 2004 to 2014, the European Union imported almost 21 million of these animals, and approximately 4.7 million households in the US, were owners of at least one reptile in 2016.
Nonetheless, popularity has spawned a massive illegal trade, according to conservationists. Many reptiles sold as pets are reported to have been bred in captivity, and sales of those creatures are legal. Many, in fact, probably most, according to species, were unlawfully captured in the wild.
According to a similar The World News report, in the UK, it is illegal to sell animals as pets in the course of trading or business from a market stall or unlicensed.
A report about the snakes for sale is shown on Hot News's YouTube video below:
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