It is my belief that the government and animal protection agencies should do more to protect these animals from these atrocities. Greater penalties such as fines or imprisonment would go a long way in deterring these selfish individuals from acquiring exotic animals. The application process and licensing for exotic animals needs to be more detailed and checks should be implemented to ensure the overall safety of the animals and the communities. It pains me to see so many beautiful animals live a life of atrocities merely because an incompetent and hapless buyer can scrounge up enough money to purchase them.
Reptiles, primates, lions, tigers, wolves, bears – these are all exotic animals that belong in their natural habitat and not living among individuals in or around their homes as “pets.” All of these types of animals are wild and potentially dangerous. Exotic animals by nature of being “exotic” are not meant to live among humans; they have been conditioned over thousands of years to survive on their own, in their own habitat. These animals do not adjust well to being held captive and the result when they are often turns out deadly, either for the animal itself or its human captor.
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| Bites from a pet monkey |
I find that the majority of exotic animal owners are selfish individuals. For the most part these people seek exotic animals for the stigma associated with the animal such as power, illusiveness, danger, or beauty. The actual care that these animals require is an afterthought for most people seeking exotic animals. The illusion that they will somehow be the one person to actually bond with and domesticate these wild animals takes over their rational thought process. Most of the time it isn’t until afterwards that these exotic animal seekers realize they were wrong in their ideas and realize they cannot change the nature of these animals. It is at this point where the animals are often abused by being confined in small enclosures, beaten, chained, and even declawed or de-toothed by their owners.
Exotic animals are not meant to be domesticated, they are dangerous to those who purchase them, as well as neighbors and the entire community. There have been multiple people that have been seriously injured, and even killed, by exotic animals that have escaped from their sub-standard enclosures. Monkeys are a very common animal held by private individuals and many owners have been brutally attacked. Felines, such as lions, cougars, and tigers are also a very common exotic animal acquired by these individuals. There are vast cases where these animals have escaped and terrorized entire communities until their capture or termination. Unfortunately, most of these exotic animals end up being euthanized, abandoned, or subjected to a life of horrible cruelties.
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| Malnourished Tiger |
I totally agree with you I actually choose
ReplyDeletethis topic as well i love animals and as a
child wanteed to be a vet but i would never
desire take an exotic animal out of there
comfort zone and expect them to behave like
they are not wild . How selfish is that but
thats like us humans call are selfes humane yet
we do inhumane things to beautifyl exotic
animals even after centuries of research we
only barely understand. It is okay to be
curious but there is a level of respect that
must be present when we step into there world
but we must leave them there not try to make
them fit into out world .
Even though I do in fact agree with both of you that exotic animals belong in their natural habitat, I'm going to play the devil's advocate and make a couple of arguments for you to consider.
ReplyDeleteYou point out that you believe that the owners of these exotic pets are selfish. I think that many of them would argue with you that they are not selfish but rather selfless. I have known a couple of owners of exotic pets and both of them believed that they were actually doing the animal a favor by giving them a better life. They believed that they met the needs of the animal by providing them with food, shelter from predators and medical care.
Another point that I feel exotic pet owners would argue is that with all animals either domestic or exotic you risk the chance of the animal turning on you and becoming dangerous. The majority of domestic and exotic animals don't turn out to be severely dangerous and you shouldn't ban exotic animals just because some have turned out to deadly or dangerous.
Like I said, I'm totally in agreement with both of you but it’s sometimes nice to think about the way they might view themselves as being heroes when we label them as selfish.
I liked your post Roy. Wow that would hurt if a monkey bit you. I also agree with you that there are times when people should not own exotic animals or domesticated animals for that matter. It takes a lot of hard work to be a pet owner. The animals are completely dependant on the owner for everything, food, shelter, and protection from danger.
ReplyDeleteThere are some legitiamate animal rescure businesses, but there are just as many that are doing a bad job. I also, think that to save every animal, exotic or domestic is not solving the problem. The money, time and energy spent caring for these animals could be spent on changing the laws to fine irresponsible pet owners. That may sound cruel to some, but there are many pets in captivity in these no kill places. What kind of a life are they leading day in and day out in a cage, without much if any interaction from a human or other dog? Constant chaos is the scene of many of these places.