Dropping the Ball? The Welfare of Ball Pythons Traded in the EU and North America

Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI
Neil D'CruzeGemma Carder

Abstract

Ball pythons (family Pythonidae) remain a commonly exploited species, readily available for purchase in North America and Europe. We assessed the housing conditions of more than 5000 Ball pythons across six exotic pet expositions and 113 YouTube videos. We scored provisions for hygiene, mobility, shelter, substrate and water provision, based on the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals (RSPCA) minimum guidelines. We found most entities involved in this commercial enterprise are not providing housing conditions that meet the minimum welfare recommendations for Ball pythons, either publicly or privately. We found that breeders and vendors typically utilised small and highly restrictive enclosures, with dimensions that prevented occupants from extending their bodies to full and unrestricted natural length. Our study also highlights that most vendors are not providing adequate written husbandry guidance to potential consumers, either at exotic pet expositions, on their commercial website, or on associated social media pages. Furthermore, our study also indicates that most potential consumers may themselves be unable to recognise unsuitable housing conditions that do not meet minimum animal welfare standards for Ball pythons. ...Continue Reading

References

Mar 20, 2010·Journal of Biology·Carlos A Driscoll, David W Macdonald
Mar 26, 2014·Conservation Biology : the Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·Emma R BushDavid W Macdonald
May 31, 2014·Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science : JAAWS·Shawn AshleyClifford Warwick
Mar 15, 2015·The Veterinary Clinics of North America. Exotic Animal Practice·Stacey Leonatti Wilkinson
Nov 12, 2015·PloS One·Janine E RobinsonDavid L Roberts
Jul 24, 2018·Frontiers in Veterinary Science·Clifford WarwickCatrina Steedman
Oct 20, 2019·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Helen LambertNeil D'Cruze
Jan 26, 2020·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Jennah GreenNeil D'Cruze
Jan 1, 2019·Global Ecology and Conservation·Özgün Emre CanDavid W Macdonald

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Citations

Dec 17, 2020·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Elaine TolandPaul van der Wielen
Jun 3, 2021·Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI·Clifford WarwickAlix Wilson

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