Quote:
Originally Posted by TamanduaGirl
Only .001% of exotics are abused
I don't know where you get your figures, but if that were true, then there are far more lions, tiger, pumas, etc out there than anyone would believe.I've seen plenty of exotics that were abused and neglected. That includes dozens of big cats. I know three big cat rescues that have taken in ten abused animals this year in just two midwestern states. That would mean there are ten thousand out there that are doing fine. I don't think so...
And BTW, I don't consider a grossly obese cat living in a 10'X30' cage as being "fine". That's not a pet, that's a living trophy for your ego. What about quality of life? If you account for that, I think you'd find that only about .001% of exotics are well cared for.
I agree that there are some people who can handle and take care of almost any exotic. The best folks are very professional in their care. The other side of that coin is that for every one good owner of a large (dangerous) exotic, there are probably ten or fifteen idiots who are keeping the animals in poor conditions. The worst keepers are always the ones that consider the animals "pets".
By letting anybody keep these animals, we end up letting everyone have a chance to own anything. For the safety of the animals and people, some animals should not be kept by individuals.
For instance, there was the wolf-hybrid that carried off the three day old infant. Who's fault was this? The wolf for being a predator, or the owner for being an idiot?
Or take the recent account of a cable worker getting bit by a Green Mamba in Florida. All the permitted Mambas were accounted for, so it's likely that it escaped from someone not following the law. Florida has some of the stiffest laws concerning venomous reptiles, and yet, people still break the law!
It just goes to show that no matter how you try to regulate exotics, people will always do what they want. This snake had come from somewhere, most likely a breeder. That means it probably changed hands somehow. Just because it may have been legal at one time, doesn't change the fact that it ended up biting an innocent bystander. The last person to own it, ...shouldn't have. There is just no place outside of a good institution for many animals, whether they be a Tiger or a Mamba or a wolf-hybrid.
And as far as:
Quote:
Originally Posted by TamanduaGirl
Some wild animals do get traded in legally but black market is extremely rare and is usually a case of one stupid person thinking they can bring a pet home from a vacation.
You have absolutely NO clue as to what you are talking about. The illegal wildlife trade totals Billions of dollars each year. Some estimates put it as the second leading cause of animal endangerment, right after habitat destruction. The illegal harvesting and smuggling of exotic animals for the pet trade is a major problem everywhere in the world. It's especially bad here in the Good Ole U S of A.
We, in the US, are the biggest consumers of these animals as pets. (Asian markets tend to use them as food or medicine, and Europe has some very strict laws regarding pet ownership). A major reason we have homes for all of these exotics is because of the confusing patchwork of laws and enforcement.
Some people who advocate exotic ownership are really just advocating selfishness. They don't care about all the animals that suffered or died to bring that animal to the person they bought it from. They don't care about all the animals abused by ignorant or ill-informed owners. They don't want these animals because it's good for the animals or the species. They just want the ego boost from owning something cool. These are the majority, and these are the people I have a problem with.
Bob