Sorry.. the cobra’s off
Animal rights campaigners have shut down the largest reptile market in the UK, and claim the country is “closer than ever” to stopping wild animal markets for good. Until recently, reptiles such as snakes had been sold in plastic takeaway tubs at Doncaster Racecourse four times a year.
But from July, the events – which are put on by the International Herpetological Society – will no longer take place.
Doncaster Council imposed the ban after animal rights protests and a petition signed by 75,000 people.
A spokesman for World Animal Protection added: “The show at Doncaster Racecourse was one of the last remaining wildlife markets in the UK.
“We will now be focusing on preventing the show from taking place at a new venue.”
Richard Brook, spokesman for the IHS, said the organisation would now be looking for a new place to hold its sales after “a campaign of harassment by animal rights activists”.