Why Isn’t Everyone Talking about HBO’s “Monsters of God”?

To honor National Reptile Day, we want to highlight a new five-part docuseries, Monsters of God, which recently aired in August 2026. It seems that its director, Eric Goode, who also directed controversial break-out shows Tiger King and Chimp Crazy, found his directorial niche in investigating the corrupt nature of those that profit from exotic animal dealings.

Exposing the Lucrative and Nefarious Wildlife Trade

Through interviewing key players involved in the reptile trade from the 1960s to present day, Goode exposes the lucrative and nefarious network of illegal wildlife trafficking, animal smuggling, and other types of criminal activity that occur simultaneously around the world; both before animal protection regulations were imposed in the United States and after. The series connects individual collectors and dealers to international criminal networks (including those that traffic weapons, humans, and drugs), undercover investigations, and the demand for rare reptiles from both private collectors and institutional buyers; even including accredited zoos and aquariums.

Some of the Nation’s “Top” Zoo Are Implicated

The series names six accredited zoos in allegations of purchasing illegally trafficked animals for their collections, including the San Diego Zoo and Los Angeles Zoo in California, the Detroit Zoo in Michigan, the New York Zoological Society (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society; a non-profit organization that manages the Bronx Zoo), and the Texas-based Fort Worth Zoo, Dallas Zoo, and Gladys Porter Zoo. The show alleges that zoo curators knowingly purchased endangered animals that were captured and smuggled back to the U.S. from their native habitats (mostly from parts of Southeast Asia, Central and South America, and Africa), while the zoos argue that they were not aware of the origin of these animals.

A Rare Reptile Collection “Arms Race” Among Zoos

In the 1970s, zoos competed to have the most spectacularly rare reptile exhibits to attract as many visitors as possible. Luckily for the zoos, the exotic animal dealers that appeared in the show supplied animals that had never been seen before in captivity in the U.S. As some of these reptiles were likely obtained through illegal smuggling, the series demonstrates how the demand for such animals contributed to the rise of the still-pervasive black market for the private ownership of reptiles. The show introduces several renowned reptile dealers in doing so, including Tommy Crutchfield, Hank Molt, Ray and Mike Van Nostrand, and Anson Wong.

The San Diego Zoo was the most implicated institution of those named in the series; the Crutchfield business had supplied the San Diego Zoo with approximately 300 reptiles beginning in 1985. The zoo disputed, however, that the animals it acquired from the business had entered the country illegally. The show also indicated that some zoos sold their exotic reptiles to private animal breeders and dealers to turn a profit once they were no longer useful to the zoo. Some species involved in the alleged illegal smuggling that supplied zoos around the U.S. included reticulated pythons, anacondas, Gila monsters, Komodo dragons, iguanas, and various tropical turtle and frog species; many of whom were or are currently heavily threatened with extinction.

The Series Reveals the Historic Role of Zoos in the Illegal Wildlife Trade

Monsters of God reveals that the demand from zoos – even at institutions with accreditation from the top zoo accrediting agency in North America, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums – played one part in a much wider illegal reptile trade, with the San Diego Zoo case providing the clearest example. Tiger King revealed the same troubling relationship in the case of the illegal trade of big cats, where zoos who no longer wanted certain big cats, including endangered and legally protected species, illegally sold them to private owners.

Zoos Still Exploit Animals, even if Illegal Purchases Largely No Longer Occur

Although the frequency of these illegal transactions occurring at currently accredited zoos in 2026 is likely much lower now than ever before, zoos and other industries that exploit wild animals for human entertainment increase the demand for rare, “exotic” animals (particularly reptiles and birds) and cause significant, often irreversible harm to fragile species and their habitats. Ultimately, the desire to possess rare wildlife – even in the name of “conservation” or “education” – can turn animals into high-value commodities, creating incentives that undermine laws intended to protect genuine conservation, animal welfare, and wildlife initiatives.

Importantly, Monsters of God offers us a reminder that having passion for wildlife does not automatically translate into protecting wildlife and can frequently do just the opposite; what matters is whether that passion supports animals living as they were naturally intended to or fuels a market that removes and destroys them. We are so happy to see a show that so explicitly documents the exploitation of reptiles for little other than human greed; the animals deserve for you to know the truth.

Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Devan