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.