Bans only eliminate problems by eliminating animals. It's no different from the stock market". Exotic pet ownership statistics show that the pet trade imports 70% of them into the country. You hide behind "free speech" unbelievable ! It will simply run, hunt, and attempt to find a mate inside your living room. Prospective owners should consider that there could be veterinary expenses in the purchase and the acquisition of any animal, she said. Leaving alone the subject of inherently dangerous animals like tigers, even harmless exotics like ferrets have been persecuted for the exceptionally rare circumstances where a case emerges with a child injured by one. And your claims that "no pet big cat has escaped and attacked a member of the public" is patently false. 3. He went to his car, Jezzy just chilling in his hand. You say their's 5 arguments for exotic pet ownership, yet you're only giving me 1 and then you rehash the same point.. We get it!! Your first 2"arguments" don't really support exotic pet ownership - you're just claiming that "normal" pet owners do bad things, too. In 2011, over 50 wild animals were released in Zanesville, Ohio. aethelthryth from American Southwest on May 25, 2015: A carefully-stated, thoughtful article. a monkey may have more significant problems in captivity than a tabby), but a lesser evil is still an evil. You may be so in love with a serval, or a macaw, but wouldn't you rather see these animals happy? This content is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional. Many myths about exotic pet ownership are perpetuated by animal rights groups and public ignorance. all over the place. Thank you for this article. Try telling my very domesticated, indoor by choice cat that she's meant to be wild xD Seriously, if I leave her out on her own for more than 5 minutes, she gets pissed off at me. But these animals still maintain more acceptance as pets than exotic pets like small wild cats that have no human fatalities on record. However, owning a Serval requires a different mindset than owning a domestic cat. Melissa A Smith (author) from New York on February 20, 2018: Adam, It's not my job to defend owning pets in general just because mine are exotic. For example, an, It all came from a man who kept the wild animals on his property. 4. I also have snakes, an iguana, and a green aracari. In Mexico City, a 500-pound lion escaped from a local lawmakers private zoo and attacked a woman and child. The term exotic pet encompasses a broad range of animals, loosely meaning any pet that is not a dog, cat, or farm animal. Exotic animals are different from regular animals in that they are not kept in the same environment. Why would a reputable breeder be responsible for the actions of unscrupulous people who kill their animals to sell to the wildlife parts trade (if that even happened in this country)? Also that their original practical use was to put them inside pipes to hunt/chase out unwanted mice and rats. Exotic could also be an animal that is not native to the area, so think of a kangaroo in the US, it doesnt really make sense, but it happens. People have the right to free speech and to push their laws, but I wish they would consider the unfairness of targeting exotic pet owners. The least pet-friendly cities were also the . 50% of pets in the US are considered exotic. My cats are in the house, outside the house, friends with the neighbours and sleep wherever they want to. It's all linked, we should have a low tolerance for people with exotic pets, because there will always be some POS out there who wants to capitalize on the exotic animal business, and to those people it doesn't matter how many have to suffer in order to make a living. It must be comfortable and allowed to meet 'humans' if it wants too and both parties must feel safe. You won't see such a high rate of zoonotic diseases in domestics (for example, domestic felines are only about 30% likely to carry toxoplasmosis, and that isn't even a fatal disease most of the time) . Median home list price: $250,000. Can you own a monkey or fox in this U.S. state? Maybe, just maybe, it is the sheep-like parroting of people like you, Sam, that is uneducated and unfounded. Still, domesticated animals can also cause severe damage, like the 4.5 million dog bites occurring annually in the US. Out of those species, over 85% were imported via the pet trade. Many domesticated animals can survive just fine in the wild (some dogs, most cats, goldfish, swine, ect. Just a girl trying to make a difference on March 21, 2017: Unlike most of the people in the comments, I do not support exotic pets. Basically, whenever any animal of the exotic description harms anyone, the reaction is that all the animals should be banned. Dr. Alice Blue-McLendon, a clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and director of the Winnie Carter Wildlife Center, says that it is also important to differentiate between exotic pets, which can be kept ethically in domestic settings, and wildlife, which should not be kept domestically. Exotic animal regulations in New Brunswick. A TikTokker is showing viewers the reality of exotic pet ownership Enlarge this image Asha, an African serval, has almost a million followers on TikTok. Liked by New York State for Exotic Animal Ownership. If preserving the safety of the public is the ultimate goal, efforts would be better spent addressing large domesticated animals, which are a bigger threat due to how they are traditionally kept. TikTok is filled with accounts showing off exotic animals that aren't typically house-trained, like . Your description reads zoo attender, so I assume you know how miserable a lot of exotic animals are in captivity. Exotic Pet Statistics | Lion, Tiger, and Big Cat Attacks and Fatalities in the United States (1990-2, Diseases from Exotic Pets: Separating Fact From Fiction. Companion animals | Exotic animals | Formulas/Calculator - Source: 2017-2018 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook. But aside from this, monkeys are one animal. Melissa A Smith (author) from New York on December 01, 2017: "I'd really love for you to expand on your point as to why owning a domestic animal could ever be the same as owning an exotic one. Otherwise, great article I enjoyed reading it and it helped me a ton with an argumental essay on this topic. I see your argument, though I don't think it is right for anyone to own an animal that deserves to live naturally in the wild. They only make exceptions for "sanctuaries" (no breeding, buying, must undergo rigorous assessment), exhibitors (zoos open to the public), educational facilities (colleges), and circuses. But generally, humans are intelligent enough to treat each species accordingly with the present danger. We rely on readers to support this website. In most states, many exotic animals are not allowed to be owned as pets, period. And while 4.7 million dog bites occur each year, there are anywhere from 70-80 million dogs in the country, meaning there's only a 5.8% chance of you being bitten by a dog. For example, there have been instances, although rare, where privately owned tigers and lions, some of which could have been former "pets", were slaughtered so that their parts could be sold on the black market. Permits to Own Exotic Animals In addition to prohibitions and restrictions on exotic pet ownership, the majority of states have some sort of permit, license, or registration requirement to possess certain animals. Banning the ownership and breeding of these animals will solve these problems! Dogs, for example, have had 30,000 years of certain breeding to domesticate them. Some conservationists have actually suggested captive breeding of tigers to offset the shooters. So what! There are a lot of animals for sale that should not be kept as pets. they are a horrid pet. Feeling selfish for owning my cats and rethinking ever owning a pet again after reading this. No one intends to harm animals by keeping them as pets even though this can unintentionally occur. As a keeper of 20 snakes, 5 lizards, 8 inverts, a cat and a dog. Probably. If the cat doesn't want to live with humans, it doesn't have to - it can always go and live somewhere else. They are a domesticated animal dived from the European polecat. It can be easy to succumb to the allure of having a beautiful spotted cat as a pet, but theyre just not suited for households, Blue-McLendon said. Back then, she dedicated her time to shelters and vet clinics in South Africa. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. It was a mistake (or maybe not) for domesticating them long long long ago. Exotic pet statistics in the US reveal that on October 30th, 2019, in a home with over 140 reptiles in Oxford, Indiana, the police discovered a. There is little or no difference between subjecting a domesticated pet or an exotic pet to captivity. width: auto; As of 2018, the US has over, Monkeys are the most common primate that private owners hold. Being prepared to invest a little bit into big enough caging is important in providing the animal with a decent home.. I have had a leopard gecko and a yellow lab for about 5 years now and they both have the same needs, water, food and space. Keeping in mind that lack of being more damaging than another type of animal is not by any means meant to be taken as an attempt to make light of the negative environmental impact that some of our pet-keeping decisions are responsible for, the most popular pets in America that are recommended as moral alternatives to exotic pets are indeed the most damaging to the ecosystem. I'm not advocating for the removal of any animals from their native habitat, but what I am trying to bring light to is the fact that simply because a pet is exotic, it is not always true that it is endangered. great article i have a tortoise and it doesn't hurt anyone. Total treatments between 2003-2012 because: Treatment needed between 2003-2012 because: W58 Bitten or struck by crocodile or alligator, X20 Contact with venomous snakes and lizards, X24 Contact with centipedes and venomous millipedes (tropical), Combined total of reptile/inverts (this includes native animals): 1260. Most so-called wild or exotic animals CANNOT survive in the 'wild'. I try my best to inform those who approach that they are part of the weasel family and related to polecats and minks. It is also estimated that, due to the fact that many keepers like myself have multiple reptiles and inverts, there are more reptiles and inverts kept as pets in the UK than there are cats and dogs. border: 1px solid gray; Animals help us fill the void, and even if you have the money, time, and knowledge to care for exotic animals, why do it? Children on an elephant at Jungleland, 1962. One needs to have an open mind to the pros and cons of the big picture putting aside opinions of right and wrong and realizing they are often arbitrary. But there arent specific products for exotic pets, which presents a massive issue. At this point it's our job to take care of them. To help you better understand the exotic pet trade, we put together the most crucial information about it. My mother called me an hour later to say that the cop had called her saying we were fine but what happened. Melissa A Smith (author) from New York on May 15, 2014: DevilsAdvocate-- I should also point out upon reviewing my words that a lynx is not considered to be a 'big cat' to me or zoologists, so the lynx scenario is also not an example of what I was referring to. 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