You Are Helping Greedy People Make Animals Extinct ! You may be so in love with a serval, or a macaw, but wouldn't you rather see these animals happy? But what does this mean for the animals and us? Look it up if you don't believe me. I just hope that you don't think I am attacking your justification for owning an exotic animal, I just would like to tell you my views on why it is wrong. Before you start preaching to others how wrong it is to own exotic pets, just be sure you inform people you are also against owning dogs and cats. Im sure there are exotic pet owners out there whose care and expertise could appeal to even the most diehard anti-captivity advocate, and since they exist, the right to keep alternative pets is worth protecting. He said that she was quite beautiful asked me some questions about why I had her, how long, and where I was from. Basically, whenever any animal of the exotic description harms anyone, the reaction is that all the animals should be banned. If you say that you have government sources, please show us them. Me wishing this would be the one time she would give someone hell but nah she was like 'warm hand'. I was so touched and scared Mochie was alive. .tufts-carousel { Exotic Pet Ownership Typically, the term "exotic pet" refers to any non-domesticated animal; this excludes animals like guinea pigs and canaries. African pigmy hedgehogs, even sugar gliders can make good pets. It is important for potential owners to consider whether an animal is bred and housed ethically by the breeder. Some people like to claim that keeping exotic pets will save them in the wild but I think thats untrue in most cases, so I apologize for that on their behalf even if they dont agree with me. Which exotic pets are legal in Indiana? It's SIZE. 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. Exotic pet ownership statistics show that the pet trade imports 70% of them into the country. But no cat is built to live inside a house (consider learning more about proper indoor enrichment). I think what Melissa was trying to say was that the blue tilapia was not introduced to the ecosystem by the pet trade. A lot of it depends on whether there is a sufficiently well financed lobby to change things. Where should we draw the line with what is in need of being eliminated to provide an instant resolution to the bad stuff associated with it? 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. The Burmese python is the most popular animal that people complain about; however, despite the severity of the nuisance, its presence is restricted to one region in Florida (they cannot survive in most states). There is evidence suggesting that this encourages poaching of wild animals. I own a ferret, I believe is a more 'accepted' exotic animal. If you love your dog, and you can't properly care for it, it's the same logic. The exotic pets market is growing. Slightly confused as to why ferrets are referred to as exotic pets? i love foxes i even have one sleeping in my gaming section where i do youtube vids my fox is the best shes very fast and she likes to play outside. Many people believe that exotic animals have not adapted to being kept as pets in the same way that domesticated species have. width: auto; Back then, she dedicated her time to shelters and vet clinics in South Africa. Maybe you can get an exhibitors license, but it won't be easy. Congratulations with your HotD! Melissa, I love your articles and am incredibly grateful for what you write. How many times have you heard of an animal, lets say an exotic cat or monkey, biting someone in the news? Promptly after releasing them, he shot himself. It is not realistic to assume that all cat keepers are aware of the commitment involved that should be carried out with all pets in captivityin fact most people view cats as 'easy care' pets that don't require much attention from the owner. 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. Bans only eliminate problems by eliminating animals. Jean Mayer Administration Building aethelthryth from American Southwest on May 25, 2015: A carefully-stated, thoughtful article. Also, you're missing the point. Not only those animals die, the the predators that rely on those animals die.This then ruins the whole ecosystem. 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) . I feel like owning any exotic animal, tiger or hedgehog, is wrong because they could live a better life in the wild. Call 401-273-0358. My extreme sports analogy applies to keeper risk only. Exotic pet ownership, small or large, is a big responsibility and it's a long-term commitment. That is my opinion. She believes in treating animals with the devotion and respect they deserve. I know it is IMPOSSIBLE that you've never seen someone's cat carrying a helpless animal to play with. Sadly, I'm not sure that we're going to win this fight. You cant meet the animals needs and a lot of those animals end up in some kind of a sanctuary or theyll have an unhappy life; they may also be more susceptible to diseases they otherwise wouldnt contract.. In some countries, keeping exotic animals is more common than domesticated animals. As for the logic 'if you accept domestic pets, you must accept exotic pets', that logic applies to anything. Exotic animal = anything other than a dog, cat, or common farm animal. Maybe, just maybe, it is the sheep-like parroting of people like you, Sam, that is uneducated and unfounded. Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Melissa A Smith (author) from New York on June 01, 2014: NDsnakes-- AZA doesn't support pet owners, you'd have to agree to their SSPs and they get control of certain animals, I think. 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. Or really anyone who does anything that affects animals negatively. . No one intends to harm animals by keeping them as pets even though this can unintentionally occur. Bears, Cougars, Moose, Elk etc. } Owners may have to shop for a custom-made cage and invest in a high vegetarian diet. People should spend time researching the needs of animals, looking at different websites, and talking to people who own some of those animals so they really understand what the needs are, she said. I also have snakes, an iguana, and a green aracari. If we educate people on the harms these animals can cause to humans, people will most likely stop buying these "pets" which means the smugglers can't sell anything. But these arent the only animals to watch out for. Read. Louisville, KY. This includes hamsters, parakeets, or even bunny rabbits. Also, it steadily increased between 1990-2017. Very nice and well written article. Don't like hunting for sport and would prefer much better gun control. They are VERY similar to their ancestor, the African wild cat, and have the exact same issues that zoo animals have in captivity. .content-container.responsive-grid, #views-exposed-form-tagged-content-person-block-2 { Circus animals are notorious for their break frees. Thanks again! I guess there can be some expectations, but that's probably very small. 1. It's insulting when people approach someone who's obviously invested in a subject and attempt to 'argue' using basic points they heard in some anti-exotic pet pamphlet. So if I were to argue against something like exotic animals belong in the wild well I think that I would win. She chose to stay right in front of the house, waiting for me. Domesticated animals are overbred and many are invasive species. Thank you for reading this. And then to top it all off, we keep millions of human-engineered carnivores that must subsist on the deaths of other animalsbut if I pick an uncommon pet, all of the sudden I am viewed as extra selfish. Lets explore more information on exotic animals as pets and their statistics. I know I am some random person on the internet, and this may all be annoying to read since your views are different, but please understand I care for the animals. You need to know more about them, they have special demands and people don't always bother to research about that. Learn about the rules and regulations, as well as which animals are banned as pets. Since that is not our intention, and since its perfectly feasible that an exotic pet can thrive in captivity, the act of keeping pets is not immoral. So "safe pets" caused over 40,000 treatments to be needed and that's not even including other pets deemed as safe like cats/rats/mice etc and reptiles/inverts, so called "dangerous wild animals", didn't even make it into 2000. } I know you might not be able to give your animals up so they can live in the wild because they can't hunt, but I hope your views may change in the future. It also is important for owners to be realistic about their exotic animal choice and to put the needs of the animal over their desire to have an attractive and unusual pet. 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. This is not really an environmental issue, and despite this fact, the last time anyone has caught this virus from a macaque was in the 90's. In 2005, a lion and tiger owned by a mechanic in Minnesota bolted from their cage and pounced on a 10-year-old boy, leaving him a quadriplegic and on a respirator due to the severe injuries to his spinal cord and brain. Between 19902021, over 1,300 exotic pets have escaped in the US. I am not calling you cruel, that's what keeping them seems like to me though. If you can't care for an animal like a cat and give it what it needs like mental stimulation, a raw and bio. margin-right: 0; All animals are the same we just spent more time with dogs and cats. In 2011, over 50 wild animals were released in Zanesville, Ohio. The so-called domesticated cat is considered by some to not even be domesticated. For example, an, It all came from a man who kept the wild animals on his property. 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. Good job. Volunteer Services for Animals (VSA) is an organization of volunteers dedicated to animal well-being and the promotion of the human-animal bond through programs of education, advocacy and assistance. Now as for inherently dangerous animals: Without having researched this, I can confidently say that this animal has never killed a person in recent history, other than disease transmission (last occurred in 1997). So, thats what the pet trade in the US statistics are like. In our book, an exotic pet is an unusual species that you wouldnt expect to see around a house or in a cage. Of specialty and exotic pets owned in the US in 2016, most households had fish, reptiles, and other mammals. Some conservationists have actually suggested captive breeding of tigers to offset the shooters. If we can guess that there are at least thousands of pet macaques owned, why hasn't even ONE person caught the virus in the last 15 years? You have to fundamentally alter an exotic animals nature in order to cohabit with it, which is not the case with a domestic, it wants human companionship on a genetic level. Why is the exotic pet trade singled out when it is far from the only offender, and critics of the exotic pet trade benefit from activities that ALSO contribute to invasive exotic species, including domesticated animal keeping. But its not just physical attacks we should be wary of. The state trooper was older and I'm sure seeing three, barely legal teens, one refusing to let go of the ferret, wasn't what he expected. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! It is an exciting topic which is very useful for exotic pet keepers. It might surprise you to find out how many of these animals are kept illegally. My personal opinion is that the difference between domestic and exotic animals (referring mostly to mammals here) is that domestics are bred to want and enjoy human company whereas exotics are trained to tolerate it. So what if some people do say stuff about exotic animals belong in their habitat, well so do regular animals like cats and dogs and even birds. Anyways, now if kids want to pet him I ask them to ask their parents. 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. I thought it was made clear that while I acknowledge that pet keeping is and always has been selfish, that any human other than monks following extreme ascetic lifestyles will find it completely impossible to become 'unselfish', nor do I think it's fair for any human to torture themselves over this idea and diminish their quality of life. So basically, the logic being exercised here is that since domesticated animals are not supposed to bite or kill humans, their consistently occurring attacks and even fatalities are not relevant, and only reflect on the individual. I don't think there's anything wrong with exotic pets or cats. 3. Unfortunately, the rising need for exotic animals has led to the massive rise of the black market trade. There are special rules that allow you to show or exhibit them in the state. So do many dogs, especially when they aren't neutered, or are you comparing surgically altered animals to intact exotic pets? My point is why contribute to the selfishness? In the same year, a two-year-old girl was strangled and killed by a captive python owned by her parents. Why do people tend to overlook this strikingly obvious fact about the nature of all pets? In Mexico City, a 500-pound lion escaped from a local lawmakers private zoo and attacked a woman and child. They can help you pass the time well and give you true love but they can also get bored with you so you'll need to ease up the bothering sometimes. For example, only one type of Capuchin monkey is on the endangered species list: https://animalsake.com/endangered-monkeys-list. I've never heard of a wild animal catching Herpes B virus from a monkey (there are wild macaque colonies restricted to parts of Florida). Animals dont even need to attack to hurt or kill. Considering that this is "rare", I find it to be unreasonable to cite this as a broad impact from the N. American exotic pet trade. The average exotic pet owner would get their pet from where they already do: from breeders in their country. Though you did scrape the side of why they are good, I feel like some changes couldve been made. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. I'd love to be a domestic cat; they don't have to worry about anything. Melissa A Smith (author) from New York on May 20, 2014: Melissa - thank you so much for what you do. However, many use the term to include native species as well (e.g., snakes may sometimes be considered exotic as pets even in places where they are found in the wild). Because the first thing he did was start laughing. I only have a few exotic reptiles right now, but would definitely like to expand when I'm older and more financially stable. Mas Agung Wilis/NurPhoto via Getty Images. i can't even so nasty. Common exotic pets that can be kept responsibly include pocket pets, such as rabbits, Guinea pigs and hamsters, birds, reptiles, fish, and amphibians. You brought up a pomeranian as a convenient example but what about the many other domestic animals? Tags: Alice Blue-McLendon, Exotic Animals, pet talk, 2023, Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. This is why if we should be banning anything, it should be outdoor cats! "Any animal can bite". Domestication is an arbitrary concept that cannot be strictly defined. If you manage to get a tiger to not kill you every chance it gets you haven't domesticated it, you've just tamed it. i am cringing so hard right now at this. The best way to find a vet who can care for your exotic pet is to ask around and do some research online. If you have an exotic pet, you are most likely promoting the exotic pet trade. Keeping any pet is selfish. Most issues like this are judgement calls - and that makes them arbitrary relative to opinions and experiences upon which they are founded. The follow are the five best arguments for preserving the rights of people to own exotic pets privately, in my opinion. I returns handing me a paper. I don't think there is anything wrong with keeping cats. You must really love cats. I treat both of them the same and love them both. Well, the truth is that no animal has! what about a tiger the size of a house cat, wouldn't that make a great pet? I understand what Melissa is saying however I was talking about the impact exotic animals have on our eco system. John Albu from Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87102 on May 25, 2015: I think the problem with exotic pets as opposed to regular ones is that they are more complicated to keep. 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. Tambako The Jaguar (CC BY-ND 2.0) Via Flickr. I agree full heartedly that cheetahs taken from their natural habitat harms the ecosystem, and I will repeat how much I agree with that time and time again, but it is also important to remember that not all exotic animals are endangered. Median home list price: $337,500. 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)? Invasive populations of mammals originating from the exotic pet trade are very rare and pretty much only exist in Florida. Out of those species, over 85% were imported via the pet trade. Exotic pet statistics show reptiles can carry the very same bacteria, and you dont have to eat one to get infected. thanks for having this article it helps me for my school presentation. TLDR: Poaching of endangered species is bad but does not justify a blanket ban on anything that is not a cat or a dog. It is a big problem, said Blue-McLendon. Exotic animals, such as small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, have become common pets in American households. I meant to say "It doesn't matter if you'll take good care of your "pet" because the animal most likely was (when it was captured and being transported) unable to eat, move, and behave properly.". Despite the knowledge we have on exotic pets, the problem remains. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. This next part is just a story that has had a significant impact on my memory. Smaller cats don't seem to have caused any recorded fatalities, but they've come very, very close: A 7-year-old boy was reportedly bitten bone-deep on the neck by a 40-pound declawed African serval, and a 2-year-old was mauled by a "pet" bobcat, which chewed off his right index finger and heel, and left a severe bite wound to his right cheek. That doesn't mean you end the animal's existence. 50% of pets in the US are considered exotic. Companion animals | Exotic animals | Formulas/Calculator - Source: 2017-2018 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook. Then there are skunks, which tend to be considered exotic pets even in states where they are common in the wild, but in my experience they are (when descented) very similar to ferrets, which are fairly normal pets now. Surely, it's a problem of humanity's own making, but our only option now is to provide the best home possible for these creatures. 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. My lemur or whatever was born in captivity just as you would buy a puppy from a breeder. It is estimated that 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. each year (!) Sadly that is unanswerable, although I would wager millions of years of evolution would be hard to overcome. Unfortunately, due to the sheer demand. What kind of heavily concerning zoonotic diseases do captive born genets, wallabies, servals, sugar gliders, capybara, bobcats, toucans, zebras, coatimundis, and wolves have? The existence of the animal means that some people will abuse it. The point is that you shouldn't be judging me if you're fine with owning cats. No. What do you expect from a wild animal like that! Some say that the difference between "wild" pets and domesticated pets is that the former are inherently dangerous. Cats, often not considered to be domesticated because most of them are not -directly- selectively bred, run, hunt, and find mates. But these animals still maintain more acceptance as pets than exotic pets like small wild cats that have no human fatalities on record. It's "common knowledge" that exotics make terrible pets, and convincing people otherwise is so, so hard. Now, lets look at whats happening to exotic pets worldwide. Infant snakes are shipped in boxes across oceans. Sep 4, 2020, 10:38 AM. The exotic pet trade is cruller than you realize. Emmas passion for animals started at a young age. Servals aren't typically aggressive, but they can be difficult to own as they are still considered "wild." He asked for the ferret, and not wanting to get in too much more trouble I reluctantly handed her over. 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exotic animal owners