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.