The images
in the following program
are very sensitive
and may be
as disturbing to viewers
as they were to us.
However,
we have to show the truth
about cruelty to animals,
praying that
you will help to stop it.
According to
2007 International Union
for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) data,
approximately 40% of
41,000 plus animal species
that have been assessed
by the organization
are endangered.
The wildlife trade
seriously threatens the
survival of many species
and that is why the Animal
Protection Agency
(APA), a UK-based
non-profit group,
devotes itself to halting
the capture and sale of
so-called “exotic pets.”
The Agency is
the only organization
in Europe
that is solely focused
on tackling the trade
in wild animals as pets.
While in the UK
we're working
with local authorities
at the moment
and clamping down
on illegal trade,
that is still taking place
at various markets
around the UK.
This is what
we're working hard on.
Today in the first
of a two-part series on
Stop Animal Cruelty,
we feature excerpts
from the APA and
International Animal
Rescue-produced
documentary
“A Far Cry from Nature,”
which reveals the agony
experienced by reptiles
who are trapped
and then sold as pets.
On an international level,
we're working with
our partners in Germany
in tackling the largest
exotic animal market
in the world,
which takes place
in Hamm, Germany.
And we’re also working
with another organization
in Norway to protect
a long standing ban
on the keeping of reptiles
and amphibians as pets.
That, as it stands
at the moment, that ban
on keeping these animals
is a shining light.
It's an example
to the rest of Europe
as to where we should go.
And so we feel
it’s important
to protect that ban.
And because we are
in the midst of the
biggest mass extinction
in recorded history,
we fail to see
the justification
in allowing legal trade
in these animals.
There isn’t one shred
of evidence that
this trade is sustainable.
It's been estimated
that if you look at
the wildlife trade
as a whole, something
like a quarter to a half
of it is illegal.
We know that
the illegal trade depends
on the legal trade thrive.
For instance,
paperwork is duplicated;
animals are
mis-described when
they go through ports.
Without a legal trade
being in place, it would
be very, very difficult
for the illegal trade
to thrive in the way
it is doing now.
“A Far Cry from Nature”
examines the Hamm,
Germany animal market
which is called Terraristika.
The film depicts
the horrendous
living conditions that
the animals must endure.
We now present part one
of our excerpts from
“A Far Cry from Nature.”
Reptile, a glossy lizard
gliding through the sand.
Hard to see of course,
because it is so secretive.
Picture a vivid green python
easing its way through
the lush, fertile canopy
of a rainforest.
Again, difficult with
so much green-on-green.
Then think of a tortoise
ambling across a warm,
Mediterranean shrub land.
But for the faint rustling
of vegetation,
even that’s hard to tell.
There are of course
very good reasons
why it is hard
to find reptiles like these.
They don’t want
to be found.
A Far Cry from Nature.
Perhaps unsurprisingly
then, they certainly
don’t want this.
This is the Terraristika,
the Hamm
exotic animal market,
so called because
twice a year the town
of Hamm, Germany
plays host to possibly
the world’s largest
and one of
its most controversial
car boot-like sales
of exotic wildlife.
Cramped and
inappropriate housing,
stressed and suffering
animals, reckless handling,
risks of cross-infection
and disease risks to
humans and agriculture
are just some of
the major issues
that go hand-in-hand
with the event.
Around 10,000
wild-caught and
captive-bred animals
are offered for sale here,
some from
typical pet shops, others
from illusive traffickers
identifiable only through
websites and email.
So greedy is the appetite
for wild animals
at the event that species
unknown to science have
also been found on sale.
And now,
the scale of the market
and the volume
of its problems are
attracting international
concern and criticism.
No room for space.
Reptile dealers
and keepers commonly
spread the idea that
reptiles neither need
nor use much space.
This is absolute nonsense.
Not only do reptiles
lead active lives,
often over large areas,
but even if stationary
and resting they need
to change body posture
and position.
For example,
to stretch out is part of
their own wellbeing.
Of course, stretching out
is not an option in a cage
that is shorter
than the animal itself.
The relatively docile
nature of these lizards
makes them popular.
Although many people
keep lizards in cages
like these,
it is overly restrictive
and highly inappropriate,
failing to permit spatial
and many other behavioral
and physical needs.
Should a small cat
or a dog be forced
to spend its life
in an environment like this,
the captor would face
harsh condemnation and
maybe also prosecution.
And as we’ll explore,
because of their
biological programming,
it is arguably worse
for reptiles to be caged
than dogs or cats.
But if you think
that’s bad then look at this.
This lizard is forced to
remain bent just to fit in.
A baby turtle
is seeking land
on which to rest,
but there is none.
These turtles,
struggling to escape
their cramped conditions,
are reminiscent of the
deplorable food markets
of Asia.
To these animals, their
biological inheritance
tells them
they are trapped, exposed
and vulnerable,
and surrounded by
potential threats.
Handle without care.
Handling a wild species
is very different from
petting a domestic animal,
like a dog or a cat.
In situations like these,
wild animals often perceive
the handler not as
a benign companion
but a predator.
To many, this is the capture
before the kill.
Indeed,
scientific observations
have shown that even
eye contact with a human
can cause reptiles
significant stress.
And when a few reptiles
do find themselves
outside of their
miniscule prisons,
it is hardly
a taste of freedom.
Here, athletic reptiles
try to struggle free
and escape or strike out
at passers-by, actively
seeking to avoid contact.
But striking at the glass
can also cause
facial injuries to the snake.
For others,
such as the terrapin,
common defensive
behavior includes
withdrawing into its shell,
or like this tortoise,
spreading out its limbs
in an attempt to
hook itself to surrounding
vegetation or objects.
But these measures
are no defense against
the animal dealer and the
ever-ready cash register.
Poisonous Animals
Help Yourself!
The Hamm market
is one of only a few
to display and sell
venomous snakes
from around the world.
Venomous snakes,
by their nature, are often
what you might call
highly-strung, sensitive.
The inability
of the poisonous snakes
to escape
the invasive conditions
likely adds to
their stress and arousal.
And the close proximity
of poisonous snakes
to the public, along with
the flimsy containers,
is bad enough, but
weakly taped-down lids
are a disaster
waiting to happen.
It isn’t difficult
to imagine someone
accidentally falling
onto one of these stalls,
with who knows
what consequences.
It is yet another example
of the complacency and
disregard for both animal
and human well-being
endemic at the event.
Beware of
infectious disease,
pass it on!
One of the simplest ways
to spread bacterial, viral
and fungal disease
is to put large numbers of
particularly
stressed animals
in the same environment
and airspace.
Add a few go-betweens
such as 550 to 600
wildlife dealers
and several thousand
spectators and buyers,
and you have the makings
of a veritable
microbial utopia.
The slow metabolic rate
of reptiles means that
many would not show
signs of illness until
long after they’re sold.
All reptiles carry bacteria,
most notably salmonella,
along with other microbes
that are potentially
harmful or fatal to humans.
It is not only impossible
to eradicate these germs
from reptiles,
but transmission is easy
and infection, common.
Like many other
reptile-related bugs,
salmonella is
routinely excreted, and
quickly spreads to occupy
the wider environment;
animals contaminate
the boxes, boxes
contaminate the tables,
handling of boxes
and of animals
contaminates people,
their clothes,
hair, car and
the domestic environment.
Events like Terraristika
offer a super-express
highway for pathogens
from all over the world.
And without even
the minimal protection
of quarantine,
infectious disease is free
to enter private homes.
In the United States
pet reptiles
are thought responsible
for around five percent of
all salmonella infections.
In some cases
it may be as high as 18%.
And that’s just salmonella.
A single reptile may
carry dozens of species
of bacteria alone.
The Convention
on International Trade
in Endangered Species
of Wild Flora and Fauna
or CITES
is a global agreement
governing the
international exchange of
threatened or endangered
plants and animals.
Animals that are protected
are listed in
the treaty’s appendices.
Appendix I species
may never be traded
and Appendix II species
can only
be bought and sold if it is
considered sustainable
in the long-term
and careful monitoring
is in place.
The trade in reptiles
is largely unregulated
and only a minority
of species are regulated
in under CITES, which is the
International Convention
that monitors the trade
in reptiles.
Because of this lack of
accurate trade data,
it’s very difficult
to estimate the scale
of the trade globally.
What we do know is that
it involves many millions
of individual animals,
and that this trade
is putting undue pressure
on wild populations and
it’s disrupting ecosystems
globally.
While reptiles are
either wild-caught
or captive-bred, the trade
in wild-caught reptiles
is legal unless the
animals are endangered,
classified as endangered,
or protected by
national governments.
For instance, a lot of
European governments
now ban trade
in their native species.
So this trade is ongoing,
it's poorly regulated
from source through
to sale, in the countries
where there is a demand
for these animals.
And the UK is one of
the five main trading
countries in Europe
that are placing
heavy demand on supplies
for these animals as pets.
Endangered or not,
reptiles and
all other wild animals
deserve only freedom
and the right to live out
their natural lives
in their native habitat.
So animals suffer
all the way
through the trade system.
The suffering is endemic
to the trade.
We know that a lot of
reptiles die through
the capture-trade process,
we know
that a lot of them suffer
premature mortality.
Our deep thanks
go to Elaine Toland,
founder and director of
the Animal Protection
Agency, and others
involved in producing
“A Far Cry from Nature”
for letting us share this film
with our viewers.
Let’s all do our part
to end the heartless
exotic animal trade
by refusing
to purchase reptiles
or any other types
of wildlife as pets.
May we also lead lives
free of animal products
by adopting
the compassionate,
organic vegan lifestyle.
For more details on
“A Far Cry from Nature”
and ending the reptile trade,
please visit
www.APA.org.UK
We appreciate
your company today
on our program.
Please join us again
next Tuesday on
Stop Animal Cruelty
for more excerpts from
“A Far Cry from Nature.”
Enlightening Entertainment
is up next,
after Noteworthy News.
May Heaven’s light
illuminate the lives of
all beings on our planet.
The images
in the following program
are very sensitive
and may be
as disturbing to viewers
as they were to us.
However,
we have to show the truth
about cruelty to animals,
praying that
you will help to stop it.
According to
2007 International Union
for Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) data,
approximately 40% of
41,000 plus animal species
that have been assessed
by the organization
are endangered.
The wildlife trade
seriously threatens the
survival of many species
and that is why the Animal
Protection Agency
(APA), a UK-based
non-profit group,
devotes itself to halting
the capture and sale of
so-called “exotic pets.”
Today in the conclusion
of a two-part series on
Stop Animal Cruelty,
we feature further excerpts
from the APA and
International Animal
Rescue-produced
documentary
“A Far Cry from Nature,”
which reveals the agony
experienced by reptiles
who are trapped
and then sold as pets.
On an international level,
we're working with
our partners in Germany
in tackling the largest
exotic animal market
in the world,
which takes place
in Hamm, Germany.
And because we are
in the midst of the
biggest mass extinction
in recorded history,
we fail to see
the justification
in allowing legal trade
in these animals.
There isn’t one shred
of evidence that
this trade is sustainable.
“A Far Cry from Nature”
examines the Hamm,
Germany animal market
which is called Terraristika.
The film depicts
the horrendous
living conditions that
the animals must endure.
The problem is as well,
because reptiles can’t
vocalize in a way that
we do, and because they
lack facial expression,
it's very difficult to tell
that they're suffering.
And this is one thing
people should bear
in mind, just because
we can't tell the obvious
signs, and there are very
few experts in the world
who can accurately
read and interpret
that behavior, we
shouldn't rule out the fact
that these animals are
suffering, incredibly so,
and over the long- term,
because of their
slow metabolic rate.
Whenever we encounter
animals going through
the trade system,
you see them suffering,
because their welfare
is compromised.
Organizations such as
the British Veterinary
Association, they recently
voted the exotic pet trade
as the most worrying
animal welfare concern;
if you looked at
animal welfare problems
across the board,
they voted that
as the single most
worrying aspect.
We now present more
from
“A Far Cry from Nature,”
a film which gives
perspective on the
sad lives of the animals
sold at Terraristika.
BAD BEHAVIOR
Reptiles have evolved
innate and precocious,
meaning that from birth
they are gifted with
able bodies and
all the behaviors and
thinking they will need to
survive life in the wild.
Their needs, wants,
strategies and fears
are inherited from
millions of years of
natural programming.
And unlike humans or
dogs, which have special
traits that make them
highly adaptable to
new situations, reptiles
are hardwired to nature.
Whether wild-caught
or captive-bred,
they need to be wild.
The stress of
an unnatural life
in captivity causes a raft
of behavioral problems.
And almost all reptiles
show these.
Just one stress-related
behavior is called
ITB – Interaction with
Transparent Boundaries.
To animal dealers,
pet keepers and even
many veterinarians,
a reptile seen clambering
at the glass, like these,
attracts
almost no attention.
To a behavioral expert,
however, ITB is an
important sign of stress.
Scientific assessment and
even common sense says
the animal feels
trapped and wants out.
A human, dog or cat,
with their adaptable
nature, quickly learn that
glass, even though
it is invisible,
is a hard barrier.
Reptiles, however,
are pre-programmed for
life in nature where
there are no impassable,
transparent boundaries.
To reptiles,
transparent walls are
non-existent forces of
confusion and frustration,
and a self-feeding stressor.
Like other
captivity stress behaviors,
ITB causes physical
problems too, such as
damaged claws
and friction lesions,
as seen on these lizards.
NO REST
FOR THE INNOCENT
Two behavioral strategies
that reptiles and
other animals employ
to avoid threats and
environmental stresses,
such as
outside disturbances or
inside light,
are escape and hide.
Escape is not working.
And the inability to
avoid unwanted light
or a photo-invasive
environment,
as it is sometimes called,
stresses animals at a time
when they seek seclusion.
And how does one hide in
a thin layer of substrate?
Of course,
it’s not so easy to flog
an animal that
the prospective customer
cannot see.
And for nocturnal
reptiles, like these lizards,
constant and unavoidable
light adds to their
already multiple-stress
burden.
DEGREES OF
UNCERTAINTY
Few people
truly understand
the importance of
temperature in reptile life.
Mammals, including
humans, maintain
their body temperatures
physiologically, from the
stability of daily life to
the high fevers of illness.
Reptiles though
must manage
their body temperatures
behaviorally by seeking
warmer or cooler areas
of the environment.
Despite the term
“cold blooded,” reptiles
need to be warm
in order to operate
at their physiological and
behavioral optimums.
Like us, when reptiles
face challenges such as
stress or infection, they
too may need to raise
their temperature to help.
So the physiological fever
of mammals, for example,
is replaced with
behavioral fever
in reptiles.
Cramped and unnatural
surroundings, handling
and manipulation,
behavioral restrictions,
invasive light and noise
and perceived predatory
threats, among others,
may all trigger a
necessary fever response
in animals
under market conditions.
But without
the essential facilities
to voluntarily raise
their body temperatures,
the reptiles
at Terraristika are denied
important natural defenses,
with possible
medium- and long-term
consequences
for health and welfare.
So many things,
including immunity,
metabolism and activity
are dependent on
the right temperature
at the right time.
Emotional fever,
digestion, and
physical reactions
are all governed by
how warm or cool
a reptile is.
At the market
some reptiles had
individual heat sources
with constant
temperatures.
But contrary to
the beliefs of many who
keep these animals,
setting a constant
temperature is actually
a bad idea, as reptiles
need both general and
subtle temperatures that
only they can determine
according to their needs
at a given time.
The market itself had a
background temperature
of 24 to 30 degrees
Celsius, an almost
one-size temperature
that wouldn’t fit all.
The important
naturalistic thermal
ranges that reptiles
require to remain healthy
are impossible to achieve
in conditions like these.
And then there are
the animals in the boxes
on a much cooler floor
waiting to restock
the stalls.
For them, there is no
standard of warmth at all.
And outside
in the car park, things
are not much better.
MAKE SOME NOISE
There are only a few
biologists in the world
with a deep grasp of
reptilian behavioral and
psychological needs, and
who have the ability to
interpret complex
abnormalities and stress.
No surprise then that
animal dealers
and pet keepers alike
are almost clueless.
Most reptiles are
anatomically mute,
so there are no pitiful
squawks, whines or cries
to give away their misery.
And because they lack
the facial muscles to
allow them expression,
the very feature that
humans so readily use
to communicate and
understand pain, joy, fear,
stress and suffering,
their state of mind,
almost without exception,
goes unnoticed.
Stocking and displaying,
often precariously,
sensitive, wild animals
as if they are products
at a sandwich bar adds to
the apparent disregard
for the confused
and fearful life forms
contained within.
Some may argue that
these conditions are
merely temporary.
It’s a poor excuse.
And for many animals,
this is almost their
entire life, being driven
from venue to venue until
they are sold or dead.
The enthusiastic and
the curious head back,
laden with lives.
As buyers will later
confirm, not all animals
survived this journey,
dying of stress and illness.
It’s a difficult death,
unwell, alone and
a long way from home.
Pet markets like
Terraristika have been
banned in the UK
because of inherent
animal welfare problems.
And although
still occurring in the
United States, authorities
there are closing the net.
Countless wild animals
have already experienced
the Terraristika.
And for them,
it is too late.
As for the future,
a ban on this and other
exotic animal markets
cannot come too early.
Pre-packed pets,
whose fates are
well and truly sealed, it’s
all a far cry from nature.
And as we’ve learned,
reptiles can offer
no cries of their own.
So we have to do it
for them.
Elaine Toland is
the founder and director
of the Animal Protection
Agency and helped to
film as well as edit
“A Far Cry from Nature.”
These animals require
a very carefully
controlled environment
in terms of temperature
and humidity etc.
this is
rarely accommodated
in these kinds of
basic conditions.
So animals suffer
all the way through
the trade system.
And then, when they
reach the pet trade, the
animals suffer because of
the misinformation that’s
given out by the traders
to how these animals
should be treated.
For instance, the traders
will often advise that
reptiles should be kept in
glass tanks or vivariums.
And this,
this is not the case.
Reptiles should not be
kept in this way and they
suffer in this environment
for several reasons and
there’s not enough space,
there’s not
the temperature range
that they need and also
they fail to adapt to that
artificial environment.
Here are some
closing thoughts
from Ms. Toland.
Many thousands of
animals are sold
at one of these events,
and the conditions
are appalling.
You’ll have animals
in take-way containers
for the whole day, and
sometimes you’ll have
an event, say in the
middle of the country,
you’ll have dealers
from Europe,
from Aberdeen,
from Dublin (Ireland),
traveling to get there,
and obviously
taking the animals that
weren’t sold back.
But the conditions are
very basic, and we know
the animals suffer
through this process.
And this is why
legislation was brought
in to stop these types of
events from taking place.
We’ve had a lot of
success in stopping
reptile markets and bird
markets around the UK.
In terms of
reptile markets over
the last few years, we've
been working alongside
local authorities,
going into these events,
investigating them,
providing evidence
to councils as to
what they’re about, and
getting more councils to
agree not to permit these
events in their areas.
So we’re now down to the
last five events in the UK.
And we hope by the end
of this year (2010)
to have eradicated
these events.
We salute you
Elaine Toland and
members of the Animal
Protection Agency for
your dedicated efforts
to help stop
the global reptile trade.
Let’s all join in helping
to end the inhumane
marketing of reptiles
by refusing to purchase
these beautiful beings or
any other kind of wildlife.
May we also be
champions of all animals
by following the loving
organic vegan lifestyle.
For more details on
“A Far Cry from Nature”
and ending
the reptile trade,
please visit
www.APA.org.UK
We appreciate
your company today
on our program.
Enlightening
Entertainment is next,
after Noteworthy News.
May Divine love warm
the hearts of all beings
on our planet.