The trade in exotic pets accounts for a huge drain on their natural populations. The trade monitoring network TRAFFIC assessed world trade figures for 70 reptile species. It counted 233,695 and 1,452,963 animals each year, with these figures likely to be way short of the mark.

Owners make up many excuses for keeping wild animals as pets by citing reasons such as “it is less stressful for the animal” and “captive animals live longer in captivity”. While sometimes these ring some truth, the amount of animals that are harmed and killed on their way to their life in captivity is shocking.

TRAFFIC announced that an estimated 75% of animals that are taken form the wild and transported on the black market are injured and killed.

As many as a 1,000 different types of exotic pets are being kept in the UK, and a number of the owners of those pets don't know how to look after them.

Earlier this year, RSPCA officers found a 12-foot Burmese python abandoned in a council flat in Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, after its owner moved out. Rescue centres are currently over run with abandoned exotic pets that have been mistreated and malnourished.

The RSPCA want a strict new code in place that will force people who sell pets to keep them in healthy conditions. As many as a 1,000 different types of exotic pets are being kept in the UK, and a number of the owners of those pets don't know how to look after them.