Animal activists gathered outside the Pomona Fairplex on Saturday during a reptile expo to raise awareness about the cruelty of the exotic pet trade after dead and dying animals were found in trash bags following last year’s event.
Last weekend, the Reptile Super Show brought vendors selling varieties of lizards, snakes, amphibians and tortoises to prospective pet owners. There were also exotic frogs, chameleons, bearded dragons, geckos and boa constrictors.
At last year’s expo, dozens of animals were found dead or dying in trash bags after the event. Piles of dead snakes filled the bottom of these bags, while other animals were left dead in their cramped plastic display containers; the stickers with the species name and price were still attached.
In response, several animal rights groups – including In Defense of Animals, Rescue Not Retail, Los Angeles Animal Save and Animal Alliance Network – held a rally outside this year’s Super Reptile Show to inform and educate attendees about the poor treatment these animals suffer. They asked them not to participate.
“The issue was that these vendors who have these animals … basically are just products to them. They’re not living beings,” said Michael Angelo Torres, a campaign coordinator for In Defense of Animals. “Once [the vendors] are done, it’s a lot easier just to throw them away … than to actually collect them … in between shows and do what they should be doing to care for these animals.”
While he’s certain that this practice has been something that’s been occurring for a long time, Torres said this is the first time they’ve been able to document it.
Torres wasn’t sure about the exact factors that led to so many dead reptiles, but from what activists have observed at these types of events, the animals on sale are likely put under a tremendous amount of stress. Vendors will often have hundreds of animals, which are displayed in what look like to-go food containers that are so small they can barely move.
The vendors, Torres said, are more interested in attracting buyers than caring for the welfare of the animals. And with so many for sale, he added, it would be nearly impossible to give them the attention and care they need to stay alive.
One of the goals of these animal rights organizations is to advocate for legislation that will shut down events and vendors from continuing to sell reptiles and amphibians. In lieu of that happening, though, their other main goal is conducting outreach at events like the Reptile Super Show and talking to potential attendees about the best way they can help these animals.
People who go to these shows to buy a reptile as a pet can often have misconceptions about how much care these animals need in comparison to dogs and cats, which Torres said can be dangerous.
Unlike dogs, for instance, which need to be potty trained, walked every day and can bark loudly, turtles and snakes don’t need the same training, don’t make nearly as much noise and are usually kept in a tank, leading people to believe that they are “starter” pets and can just be ignored. The vendors, who Torres said are just interested in making a sale, may not inform potential buyers about the proper level of care the animal needs.
“It’s a never-ending pool of animals that are going to be bred and placed out there [on the showfloor] for people to hopefully buy,” Torres said, “and, as we’ve seen, they are discarded if they’re no longer of use to the vendors.”
Torres believes that the people who attend these types of events may go with the best of intentions – to give an animal a home – but they can be unaware that there are other options.
Instead, Torres highly encourages prospective pet owners to go through an adoption agency or rescue organization, which puts the animals’ well-being first and foremost. In contrast to vendors who are looking to profit, Torres said these agencies will make sure that new pet owners understand what having a snake or a lizard as a companion actually entails.
The weekend protest, he maintains, was not to harass attendees or guilt-trip them; rather, it was to raise awareness of what being a responsible pet owner for these animals means and to encourage them to “adopt, not shop.”
And they found plenty of support, as they also collected nearly 11,000 signatures for a petition asking for the Pomona Fairplex to no longer hold events like the Reptile Super Show on its premises, and for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to put forth legislation to end “this exploitation.”
“A lot of people really care about reptiles, and I’m pleasantly surprised at just how many different resources there are for those who have reptile companions,” Torres said. “If you want an animal companion in your life, there are definitely more caring ways to go about it than going to these expos and super shows.”
To sign the petition calling for the end of these types of expos, and to learn more about what actions you can take, go to https://www.idausa.org/campaign/animal-companions/latest/end-cruel-and-unsafe-captive-animal-expos-in-los-angeles-county/.