Snatched from the wild or cruelly bred for the pet industry, ball pythons suffer at every stage of the wildlife trade. It’s time to end this cruelty
Ball pythons are wildlife. Not pets
The global trade in ball pythons is based on a myth – that snakes don’t think and feel. Our groundbreaking report reveals the true depths of the cruelty of the ball python trade
The global trade in ball pythons is based on a myth – that snakes don’t think and feel. Our groundbreaking report reveals the true depths of the cruelty of the ball python trade
Follow a ball python’s journey from capture to pet, and everything in between, below
It's time for lasting change for wild animals
The cycle of suffering is endless for wild animals used as pets, like ball pythons.
They’re poached from the wild or captive bred, then transported, which can be deadly. Then they suffer a lifetime in captivity, with lack of adequate shelter, food and room to roam.
The poor conditions in each stage of their cruel journey don’t just cause suffering, they are incubators for disease.
Suffering at scale
Snakes are living, feeling animals. Not commodities.
Approximately 100,000 live ball pythons are currently being exported out of Africa every year – mainly to the USA.
Ball pythons are not aggressive by nature, so they’re an easy target for our greed.
Protecting wild ball pythons isn’t our only urgent concern.
Crammed into tiny tanks, subjected to inappropriate conditions and cruel breeding practices, the many thousands of captive-bred ball pythons are suffering too.
Wild caught or bred, life in captivity is no life at all for a wild animal. We need to end this cruel industry now.
Beyond the terrible suffering of wild animals, this global trade is endangering people too. Pandemics like coronavirus happen because we exploit wildlife.
Close contact between people and stressed wild animals is a dangerous cocktail that can lead to outbreaks of illnesses like salmonella, or even pandemics – a reality we are all living in today.
Ball pythons on display at an expo
End the trade of wild animals forever
We are calling on governments, organisations and nations to unite to end to global wildlife trade.
Join our movement to bring an end to this suffering forever. Together, we can end this cruel trade.
The process of hunting wild ball pythons is brutal
Hunters scour the bush, usually in groups accompanied by dogs. When they find pythons after tearing through the undergrowth, they are pulled from theirs burrows. This can cause snakes immense distress, and injuries.
Hunters scour the bush, usually in groups accompanied by dogs. When they find pythons after tearing through the undergrowth, they are pulled from theirs burrows. This can cause snakes immense distress, and injuries.
Ball python held by hunter - photo by Aaron Gekoski for World Animal Protection
They’re thrown into sacks, often with many other snakes. For solitary animals like ball pythons, this process can be extremely traumatic.
It also increases the risk of disease and death.
This is just the beginning of a ball python’s painful journey to become a pet.
After they’re hunted, wild ball pythons end up in breeding facilities known as ranches
Pregnant ball pythons and eggs are especially targeted and kept in ranches so that live babies can be exported.
Pregnant ball pythons and eggs are especially targeted and kept in ranches so that live babies can be exported.
Ball python in a ranching facility in Ghana - photo by Aron Gekoski for World Animal Protection
A portion of mother snakes and hatchlings are supposed to be safely returned to the wild, but research has revealed that’s not always the case.
Many hunters and ranchers are not following these guidelines, jeopardising wild python populations.
The only way to prevent ball pythons from being exposed to cruelty and population loss is to stop the trade now.
Can you imagine anywhere further removed from the wild than a pet expo?
Row after row of snakes in tiny, cramped and uncomfortable tanks and jars are stuffed into giant warehouses, to be browsed and handled like products on a shelf.
Row after row of snakes in tiny, cramped and uncomfortable tanks and jars are stuffed into giant warehouses, to be browsed and handled like products on a shelf.
Ball pythons on display at an expo in the UK
For wild animals like ball pythons, this is nothing short of torture. How would you feel if you were forced into a space so small you couldn’t even stand up when you wanted to?
Some of the most sought-after ball pythons are called ‘morphs’. These snakes have been intensively and selectively bred for unusual colours and markings, meaning breeders can sell them at a higher price.
But these ‘cool’ markings come at a terrible cost to pythons’ welfare.
Ball python morphs displayed at an expo in Memphis, USA - photo by Aaron Gekoski for World Animal Protection
Irresponsible breeding can result in genetic disorders and deformities such as ‘star gazing’ – a condition where the python’s head falls back, so they are constantly looking up.
Another disorder, ‘wobble head’, leads to pythons’ heads shaking uncontrollably.
Is a pet snake really worth all this suffering?
A tank is not a substitute for the wild. Even the most dedicated python owner will not be able to meet the needs of a wild animal.
A tank is not a substitute for the wild. Even the most dedicated python owner will not be able to meet the needs of a wild animal.
Pet pythons can suffer from:
- Lack of space
- Wrong temperatures
- Burns
- Painful mites
- Stressful handling
- Anorexia
- Morbid obesity
- Infections and injuries
Injured ball python - photo by Aaron Gekoski for World Animal Protection
Regardless of love or intention, captivity will never be the right place for a wild ball python.
Find out more about how pet pythons and other wild animals suffer.
Join our movement
The global trade in ball pythons is based on our demand for exotic pets. We need to end that demand.
Join our movement of animal welfare protectors by calling for an end to the wildlife trade. The first step you can take is to commit to not to buy wild animals as pets.
