Tell Doncaster Racecourse to stop the suffering

Ball pythons are sentient wild animals that feel pleasure, distress, excitement, fear and pain. In the exotic pet trade, they are treated like products.

At Doncaster reptile expo, held four times a year at Doncaster Racecourse, breeders sell hundreds of Ball pythons in inhumane conditions that cause unnecessary stress and suffering:

  • Crammed into highly restrictive plastic boxes that prevent natural movement.
  • These nocturnal and shy wild animals exposed to stressful captive conditions.
  • Subjected to bright lights and loud noise with nowhere to hide.
  • Denied their most basic welfare needs.

In a country that prides itself on being a nation of pet lovers and having the highest standards of animal welfare, this mistreatment is simply unacceptable.

Tell Doncaster Racecourse to stop the suffering

Doncaster reptile expo is one of the last reptile markets in the UK.

Its organisers, the International Herpetological Society, exists to promote captive reptile keeping. But its venue, Doncaster Racecourse, does not.

Tell Doncaster Racecourse wild animals belong in the wild, not sold as pets. Its time this cruelty was part of history.

Sign our petition telling them no more inhumane reptile markets at their venue.

Sign the petition

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Doncaster reptile expo

Snakes on display

Ball python

Wildlife. Not pets: our campaign

Reptiles dominate the exotic pet trade in the UK. An estimated 200,000 snakes are kept in British homes, with Ball pythons being one of the most popular species.

But Ball pythons are wild animals, even when bred in captivity. As exotic pets they face a lifetime of misery.

Doncaster reptile expo is the most important event in the UK for breeders of Ball pythons. Our new report, Suffering in Silence, includes evidence of the suffering of Ball pythons that are captive bred and sold at exotic pet expos. 

This year, due to the Coronavirus events are planned for June, August, September and November. 

We are campaigning to reduce the acceptability of exotic pet ownership and to disrupt the exotic pet trade. To join our movement, please sign our petition to Doncaster Racecourse and help us protect wild animals.

Ball python after hunting, Ghana. Credit: World Animal Protection / Aaron Gekoski

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