Reptile festival held in Baghdad

STORY: Reptile festival held in Baghdad DATELINE: Nov. 12, 2022 LENGTH: 00:03:01 LOCATION: Baghdad CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of the reptile festival 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ALI ABDUL HUSSEIN, Reptile breeder 3. various of the reptile festival 4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): MUSTAFA AL-TAMIMI, Reptile breeder 5. various of the reptile festival STORYLINE: A team of reptile lovers named Reptile IQ organized a festival for non-venomous reptiles on Friday at the al-Zawra Zoo in central Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The festival aims to change the prevailing social view that all reptiles are harmful and should be eliminated. The team members believe that approaching and touching reptiles reassure and urge people not to harm them. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ALI ABDUL HUSSEIN, Reptile breeder "In general, these reptiles are cute animals that can be kept as pets, but most people are afraid of these reptiles. So we try to make people see for themselves that these animals are not evil and not harmful creatures.