# The Future of Keeping Reptiles



## Chris Newman

Presentation given recently in Germany on the threat from Animal Rights and the treat to keeping reptiles: 



*The Future of Keeping Reptiles *​ 

*in Captivity*​ 

*in Great Britain*​


*Chris Newman*​ 




*Federation of British Herpetologists*​ 

*Reptile & Exotic Pet Trade Association*​







*The UK reptile market 2006*​ 

*n Reptiles have been the fastest growing sector of the pet industry for the past two decades.*

*n In excess of 1 million homes currently keep more than 5 million reptiles and amphibians*

*n Colubrid snakes (corns, rats, milks etc), leopard geckos, bearded dragons and tortoises represent in excess of 65% of reptiles in trade*

*n 85 – 90% of animals in the pet trade are captive bred*

*n Over 300,000 reptiles and amphibians are bred in the UK each year and this is increasing*




*The UK reptile market 2006*​ 
*some facts:*​ 



*n 12,000,000 crickets are bred each week as food for reptiles*

*n Over 2.8 tons of frozen mice are sold each month in the UK for snake food *

*n Over 1,000 vivariums are sold each week in pet shops*




*Reptile Keeping – Historical*​ 


*n The Tower of London Menagerie began in 1243. A pair of (probably) Burmese Pythons bred and laid 14 eggs in May 1828 when the snakes had been in the collection for two years.*​ 


*n William Laud, Bishop of London, purchased a Spur-Thighed Tortoise in 1625. He kept the tortoise at the Palace of Fulham. Eight years later he became the Archbishop of Canterbury and the tortoise moved with him to Lambeth Palace, where it lived for another 120 years. In 1753 its long life was literally cut short when an under-gardener accidentally cut off its head. The shell was preserved and is still kept today in the library at Lambeth Palace. *​ 



*Reptile Trade – Historical*​ 

*n In the 17th & 18th centuries the Dutch East India Company was the main supplier of reptiles & other exotic livestock imported into Europe through the port at Amsterdam, where they constructed special holding facilities. They also constructed a depot and holding facility at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, which operated until 1832.*

*n The Aquarist & Pond Keeper Magazine May/June 1935 *
*incorporating the "Reptilian Review“ (Advertisement for Australian animals for sale)*

*L Cura & Sons, Warner Street, Mount Pleasant, London, EC1*

*Stump-tailed Lizards 15 /- 1.00 Euro*
*Blue Tongue Lizards 5 /- 1.70 Euro*
*Diamond pythons 40 /- 2.70 Euro*
*Lesuers Water Dragons 20 /- 1.35 Euro*



*Why keep reptiles as pets?*​ 

*n Reptiles are increasing in popularity as pets as many are easier to keep than other traditional pets. *

*n CAWC (June 2003) REPORT ON THE WELFARE OF NON-DOMESTICATED ANIMALS KEPT FOR COMPANIONSHIP*

*“it may be easier to keep some non-domesticated species to high welfare standards than some that are domesticated. Thus, meeting all the requirements - space, dietary, social, thermal, and so on - of a small, hardy, reptile may be more readily achievable for many people than adequately fulfilling all the needs of some breeds of dog” *



*Are reptiles safe pets?*​ 
*Home Accident Surveillance System (HASS) 2002*​ 



*accidents that caused a serious enough injury to warrant a visit to a hospital*​ 





*n Animal Home accidents National est.*

*Dog 3,125 64,063 *

*Cat 732 15,006 *

*Equine 169 3,465 *

*Reptile 16 328 *




*Are reptiles safe pets?*​ 

*Perspective*​ 



*n It is estimated that 450,000 people are bitten by dogs each year, and that 65,000 people seek hospital treatment*

*n Of these a 1,000 will require surgery *

*n 100 will have serious permanent disfigurement *

*n 4-7 will die as a result of the attack*

*n 60%+ of these are likely to be children *

*n Over the past 100 years there has not been a single death from an attack by a pet reptile*



*What is the threat?*​ 

*n Animal Rights*

*Animal Rights is not the same as Animal Welfare*

*In fact Animal Rights can be detrimental to the welfare of animals. Animal Rights extremists believe that animals are better off dead rather than kept in captivity. For example, one so called animal welfare organisation stated in Parliament they would rather see a species go extinct rather than be kept in captivity!*



*ANIMAL WELFARE*​ 

*n To prevent suffering and cruelty to animals*

*A human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being, including proper housing, management, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling and, when necessary, humane euthanasia.*

*as defined by the American Veterinary Medical Association*



*ANIMAL RIGHTS*​ 

*n To end all human ‘exploitation’ of animals*

*Animal Rights is a philosophical view that animals have rights similar to, *
*or the same as, humans. True animal rights proponents believe that humans do not have the right to exploit animals in any form.*






*So what is exploitation?*​ 

*n Raising and slaughtering of livestock for consumption, hunting, using animals for medical or veterinary research, zoos, circuses, animal shows horse racing, & performing animals are all considered exploitation.*

*n Increasingly on the agenda is keeping of pets.*



*Who’s against pet keeping and the pet industry?*​ 

*n In the UK alone there are over 300 organisations that are either overtly or covertly opposed to pet keeping/pet trade.*

*n Just the top 10 organisations had an income of 290,782,396 EUR in 2005*

*n Pet Industry funding for the same period was approximately 1,335,239 EUR *


*Who are they?*​ 

*n A few of the main protagonists are:*

*Animal Aid*
*Animal Protection Agency*
*Captive Animal Protection Society*
*International Fund for Animal Welfare*
*People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals*
*Royal Society for the Protection of Animals*



*Animal Aid*​ 

*n Animal Aid claims to be the UK's largest animal rights group, with over 20,000 supporters, and one of the longest established in the world. *

*It claims to be an entirely peaceful organisation that denounces the use of violence, but an incident back in 2001 appears to link it with threats of violence and firebombing against a venue that was holding a reptile show. *

*In terms of AR organisations Animal Aid is the most proactive against the pet trade and pet keeping*


*Animal Aid*​ 

*n In 2005 it was suggested that 18 out of the 25 members of the RSPCA ruling council were also members of Animal Aid – the RSPCA have not denied this*

*n Patron to Animal Aid is Tony Benn, he is the father of Hillary Benn, the Secretary of State for Environment *


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## Chris Newman

*RSPCA*​ 

*n The Royal Society for the protection of Animals, a charity formed in 1824.*

*n The RSPCA has huge financial and political clout. Unarguably the RSPCA has powerful Animal Rights policies. These were only removed from their policy document when the Charities Commission threatened they could loose their charitable status*



*RSPCA Policy on Pets*​ 

*n The RSPCA is opposed to the sale of animals from pet shops.*

*In 1999 the RSPCA sent a letter to every Local Authority in England stating the above.*

*Despite subsequently suggesting this was not the case they have refused to retract this letter*



*RSPCA Policy on Pets*​ 

*n In there RSPCA latest policy document (2006) the RSPCA have also stated they are:*

*n Opposed to the trade in wild-caught animals*

*n Opposed to the trade in captive-bred wild animals*




*Legislation*​ 

*n The greatest threat the keeping of reptiles in captivity is legislation*

*n Domestic legislation*

*n EU legislation *


*Domestic legislation*​ 

*n Animal Welfare Act*

*n Non-native species policies*

*n Habitats Directive (European Protected Species Regs)*

*n Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regs*

*n CITES Article 8.2 - Prohibition on keeping *

*n Animal Transport Regs*

*n By-products regulations*

*EU Legislation*​ 

*n Perhaps the single most significant piece of EU legislation was the prohibition on the wild bird trade*

*Could this be applied to reptiles and amphibians?*

*YES*



*Conservation matters*​ 

*n Conservation, or even saving entire species, is of little or no concern to Animal Rights groups.*

*n Captive reptile populations are very important.*

*n Wild stocks face many threats.*




*Conserving Australia's reptiles are we serious ?*​ 

*28 May 2001 Dr Hal Cogger, John Evans Fellow, Australian Museum, Sydney and Conjoint Professor, Faculty of Science & Mathematics, University of Newcastle, NSW*​ 



*n Between 1983 and 1993, land clearing led to the deaths of at least 1 billion reptiles - more than 100 million reptiles on average each year*

*n summary*

*At least 4.4 million reptiles die each year on Australia's roads - roadkills *

*At most about 15,000 reptiles are taken from the wild each year for museum collections, research and keeping as pets*




*Habitat Destruction & Loss of Reptiles*​ 

*: Cogger et.al. data*​ 

*n Average number of reptile species in native Australian habitat = 20 per hectare*
*n Individual species density = 10 per hectare*
*n Average density = 200 reptiles per hectare*

*n Global rates of destruction of rain forest* *

*n 1 hectare per second: 200 reptiles*
*n 60 hectares per minute: 12,000 reptiles*
*n 86,000 hectares per day: 17, 200,000 reptiles *

**Myers, Norman. 1989. Deforestation Rates in Tropical Forests and Their Climatic Implications. Friends of the Earth*



*Global Reptile Trade*​ 
*Perspective*​ 



*n 12,000,000 wild caught reptiles and amphibians may be traded annually for pets per YEAR *

*n Habitat loss accounts for 17, 200,000 reptiles PER DAY*

*n Or if you prefer in excess of 62 BILLION reptiles per year*

*n Note: figures for habitat destruction do not include amphibians!*




*Captivity as an Aid to Conservation*​ 

*n Captive populations can provide a vital reservoir - insurance against wild population crashes *

*n Until 1994 the crested gecko, Rhacodactylus ciliatus, was thought to be extinct *

*n In 2004 the crested gecko was the 5th most commonly bred lizard in captivity*



*The future*​ 

*n Unless the pet industry and keeping organisations recognise and respond to the threat:*

*- Within 10 years retailing of pets from*
*pets shops will be illegal*

*- Within 20 years (or less) the keeping of ‘exotic pets’ will be banned *



*What do we need to do!*​ 


*n We need to acknowledge and understand the threats posed by the Animal Rights Industry*

*n Keepers and industry must unite – united we stand, divided we will fall*

*n We need to start to redress the political balance*




*In closing*​ 

*n Animal keeping is not a privilege - it is a right, as it is our right to be free. Society can remove our rights, but only if we transgress the law. We cannot afford to allow the Animal Rights Industry to dictate the law or our rights. *

*n Our future is in our hands, we have a duty of care to the animals which we keep. But we also have a duty to safeguard future generations rights to keep animals…. *


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## SiUK

interesting info Chris, a good read.


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## bosshogg

that was very interesting thanks for posting that, can i safe that for future reference?
Clare


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## PSGeckos

Mmm very interesting, thanks for posting.


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## Crownan

Who was the presentation presented to and for what purpose?


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## CT1974

Thanks for posting that - made really interesting reading on an incredibly important topic. Hadn't realised the extent of the threat to reptile keeping before. 

Thanks again.


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## Ally

A very interesting read - thanks Chris!


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## Athravan

You say this was presented in Germany, and not in the UK? Were there a lot of British people there for whom it is relevant? Where was it given, what was the attendance, and was there a positive response?

Has it ever been given in the UK and what sort of attendance has it received? Or are there plans to do so?


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## peaches

On the domestic legislation what is the '*By-products regulations'*??


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## neep_neep

Interesting read.

The main thing I disagree with is the following:

"*Animal keeping is not a privilege - it is a right, as it is our right to be free."*

I personally disagree with this - I do believe that it is indeed a privelege that should quite rightly be removed from those people who abuse it.

Also with regards to Animal Aid being against pet keeping - I was having a conversation with someone a little while back who supported Animal Aid, but was convinced that they were only against the selling of pets in shops, not the keeping of pets. Which, in all fairness, I don't consider to be an entirely bad thing.

I did use a search engine to try and find some evidence and statements that stated they were against pet keeping, but could find none. Is there any?


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## gaz

on the contrary rights you are born with and CAN be taken away,priveledges are given to you and thus may be witheld from the start or removed later and you wont have much luck protecting priveledges in court whereas rights can be protected by the law of the land.
As for keeping pets but not being allowed to sell them in shops........if you prevent the selling then the keeping is doomed from the outset.
Bit of clarity of thought required here methinks
regards gaz


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## neep_neep

gaz said:


> on the contrary rights you are born with and CAN be taken away,priveledges are given to you and thus may be witheld from the start or removed later and you wont have much luck protecting priveledges in court whereas rights can be protected by the law of the land.


True. My opinion remains unaltered.




gaz said:


> As for keeping pets but not being allowed to sell them in shops........if you prevent the selling then the keeping is doomed from the outset.


Can't say I agree with this - but again, each to their own opinions


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## LFBP-NEIL

"By products regulations" refers to the animal by product regulations, Frozen rodents are now Animal by products and have to be transported as such. 

No selling pets in shops? who do you think is driving reptile keeping forwards by investing in this "hobby"

Excellent post Chris, interesting facts and hopefully a wake up call to the blinkered.


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## neep_neep

pink said:


> No selling pets in shops? who do you think is driving reptile keeping forwards by investing in this "hobby"


I was disagreeing with the fact that keeping would be doomed. 

Most of my opinions on the selling animals in pet shops is based around small mammals, thus i'm not sure how relevant it would be with regards to the reptile issue. Which is why I generally remain 'on-the'fence' as it were.


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## gaz

fence sitting is bad for you,especially the electric variety:lol2:
regards gaz
come to our side,we have cookies


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## Philcw

Excelent


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## neep_neep

gaz said:


> fence sitting is bad for you,especially the electric variety:lol2:


Yup yup, got splinters and bits of barbed wire and everything...





gaz said:


> come to our side,we have cookies


Cookies??! 


:notworthy:


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## gaz

chocolate chip no less:mf_dribble:


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## neep_neep

gaz said:


> chocolate chip no less:mf_dribble:


You mind-reader you! :flrt:

Oh dear. Intense cravings for chocolatey goodness now... look what you've done!

*scuttles to the kitchen and ceases thread hijack*


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## Cyberlizard

Let's keep this constructive. I agree with the idea of the "right" rather than the "privilege". As the poster above noted, you can have your rights taken away for legitimate reasons, eg right to freedom deprived because you committed a serious crime, or right to keep dogs if you used them in dogfighting. I don't have a problem with people losing their right to keep animals IF they are deliberately and systematically abusing their animals. My major concern is that at the moment the concepts of "abuse" are being twisted cynically by the AR lobby.

Pet shops are IMHO necessary for the hobby. They provide part of the infrastructure whereby animal keepers of all persuasions can obtain equipment and food. Some of us may be able to build our own vivaria, but let's face it, we would be hard pressed to obtain insects in winter or dried fish food. Pet shops are subject to the law and bad ones are hopefully weeded out.

As to ARs being against pet keeping, it is on record that Ingrid Newkirk, head of PETA, regards it with a very jaundiced eye.


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## Chris Newman

Athravan said:


> You say this was presented in Germany, and not in the UK? Were there a lot of British people there for whom it is relevant? Where was it given, what was the attendance, and was there a positive response?
> 
> Has it ever been given in the UK and what sort of attendance has it received? Or are there plans to do so?


This presentation was for the Germany reptile trade, the purpose was to highlight the issues that might be facing them. Recently the ‘antis’ had started to attack the reptile industry in Germany, just as they did here years before. Was it well received, well to be honest hard for me to say. What I can say is that all, of the main players in the reptile industry were in the same room at the same time and, they are now discussing forming an organisation along the lines of REPTA. 

I gave a similar presentation to the UK pet industry at the end of 2006:
*Animal Rights & the Future of the Pet Industry*
http://the-shg.org/OATA.htm

As a result of this the pet industry formed a new organisation ProPets. In the UK the pet industry has been divided in many ways, you have the Pet Care Trust representing general pets, OATA representing fish, REPTA reptiles and the Pet Product Retailers Association representing retailers. All have come together under the banner of ProPets to promote responsible pet ownership. 

The *ProPets* website www.propetsgroup.org.uk is fairly basic, but if you take a look you will find two PDF documents to down load. One ‘Animal Welfare Matters’ is a document sent at the end of last year to all Local Authorities etc. The other ‘Positive About Pets’ has just been sent to all MP’s Lords, local and national government.


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