The agriculture minister says his department is satisfied exotic pets being sold in the Isle of Man are safe and well looked after.

In the House of Keys yesterday, Phil Gawne faced a question from North Douglas MHK Bill Henderson about tarantula spiders and pythons which he claimed were being sold in pet shops.

Mr Gawne says there are plenty of laws in place to make sure they are not mistreated, either by the shops selling them or any subsequent owners.

He says exotic pets are still an unusual sight in the Island:

"They are only brought into the Island by pet shops and people who are interested in keeping these animals as pets.

"Now personally, I'm quite content with cats and dogs for pets, but some people do apparently appreciate these animals.

"The reassurance we can give to the public is that there are a variety of pieces of legislation which control this particular trade, not least in terms of cruelty to animals legislation.

"But also there are a number of pieces of legislation in terms of importation of endangered species."