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SURREY ADVERTISER (Guildford, UK) 31 August 10 Wildlife group's accusations over Reptile Expo (Hilary Gavin)
A Wildlife campaign group has claimed it has evidence of illegal sales of reptiles during an event at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury.
The Animal Protection Agency also accused Spelthorne Borough Council of being naive, saying the authority had misinterpreted the law in letting the Reptile Expo go ahead on Sunday, August 15.
The APA's Elaine Toland said thousands of reptiles and amphibians were kept in small plastic takeaway tubs at the market.
She said: "It is extremely stressful for them. The suffering of some was clearly visible.
"Selling pets at markets was outlawed in 1983. There are only a handful of markets in the UK - Doncaster, Portsmouth, Kidderminster, Maidstone and Bromsgrove.
"These markets are new to Spelthorne and we are concerned the council has misinterpreted the law."
Ms Toland said non-profit seeking owners could sell the offspring of pets at home, but it was illegal for unlicensed 'hobbyists' to sell pets commercially at market.
She said: "Reptiles are hard-wired for the wild. They don't adapt well to captivity and being kept in such conditions, even for a few hours.
"We are compiling our evidence. The racecourse and individual traders could face prosecution."
However, Amy Starkey, managing director of Kempton Park Racecourse, said: "We worked very closely with Spelthorne council's trading standards department in the lead-up to the event.
"There were environmental health officers present working closely with the Kempton Park team to ensure there were no breaches of legislation."
Lee O'Neil, head of environmental health and building control, said: "Officers from Spelthorne visited the Reptile Expo on August 15 and were satisfied there were no breaches of the Pet Animals Act 1951 at the time of their visit."
Wildlife group's accusations over Reptile Expo

"The APA's Elaine Toland said thousands of reptiles and amphibians were kept in small plastic takeaway tubs at the market.
She said: "It is extremely stressful for them. The suffering of some was clearly visible."

I say - BULL!!!

I guess we're all entitled to our opinion, no matter how wrong. However it is wrong if this is represented as fact by a credible authority.

Still getting used to the secret project...

jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I guess we're all entitled to our opinion, no matter how wrong. However it is wrong if this is represented as fact by a credible authority.

Is the Animal Protection Agency a government entity in the UK, or more akin to PeTA/HSUS? It sure sounds "authoritative."

On the other hand, the other "agency" that investigated (which I assume IS with the govt) found no problems.

At any rate, I'm sure PeTA/HSUS are watching any developments with great interest, for how best to continue their attacks on herp owners here in the US.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

From what I have heard/been told by folks in the UK, the APA is no more of an "agency" than HSUS is an actual "Humane Society". Same deception, different group.

They ARE presenting/representing themselves as a legitimate authority, whether or not they in fact are. No difference.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

They are what the UK folks are up against. Everyone Take a look at their website:

www.apa.org.uk/index.html

The APA seems to be the U.K. companion to HSUS. I've added them to my list of "Enemies". Thanks for the info!

I hate these kind of deceptive statements; quoted from the APA website:
"Next to habitat destruction, collection of animals for the pet trade is the main reason for the decline in many species."

That kinda like saying, 'next to laziness, hungry homework-eating dogs are the main reason some kids are unable to turn in their homework assignments on time'. I'm sure someone somewhere has had a dog destroy their homework but it is without a doubt a distant, distant second to the real reasons kids don't have their homework. Statistically speaking, the pet trade is so far behind habitat destruction that in the vast majority species it's hardly even worth mentioning. In fact nature would be far better off if more people prefered to spend their money on pets rather than spend it on any number of other luxuries. My guess is this lady, who would abhore the idea of wearing a fur coat made from the renewable resource that all animals are, wouldn't hesitate to own all sorts of gold, jewelry and other non renewable trinkets which, ironically, do require habitat destruction to procure and process.
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www.hcu-tx.org/

The APA's Elaine Toland said: "Reptiles are hard-wired for the wild."

No animal is hard wired for the wild. All animals are merely hard wired to seek certain conditions so that they can perform certain functions. In some cases the conditions an animal seeks may be very difficult to impossible to provide in captivity. Sea turtles come to mind. For most reptiles and amphibians though, the conditions they seek range from somewhat difficult to extremely easy to provide in captivity. Of course you need to be a thinking person with an open mind and have at least a minimal amount of observational skills in order to figure this out. I wonder how many basic questions about reptilian and amphibian physiology, biology and natural history this person could answer.
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www.hcu-tx.org/