Monsters of God is a jaw-dropping new series from the makers of the hit Netflix pandemic smash, exploring the murky world of exotic reptile smuggling<\/p>\n
In 1993, a sci-fi blockbuster about an animal theme park that resurrected the dinosaurs sparked more than a flurry of interest in those long-extinct beasts. It left audiences jonesing for the next best thing: a close encounter with a bearded dragon or a ball python. Jeremy McBride, the Emmy-winning film-maker was one of them. \u201cI wanted a pet iguana,\u201d he said. In the wake of the Spielberg classic, reptiles have become fixtures of the modern imagination, adorning zoo exhibits, living room terrariums and every corner of pop culture while underpinning a multibillion-dollar pet trade.<\/p>\n
But just as in Jurassic Park, the urgent danger isn\u2019t the prehistoric creatures with the teeth and venom. It\u2019s the people willing to steal, smuggle and kill for them. People like the Pablo Escobar of animal trafficking. \u201cOur next documentary is going to be called Who Backstabbed Who,\u201d jokes Eric Goode, an Emmy-nominated director. \u201cYou never know when that knife is going to go in your back because everyone\u2019s trying to make a deal with the feds, with another reptile dealer. Even the good guys were supposedly doing bad things. It\u2019s messy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/318baa7b8250fede4f49f96dc7bfda92dc79a8e3\/286_106_1216_974\/master\/1216.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5db31e0f16713b28cdcec4df58b587e9\" "\\"\u2018Even")
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