This is for the less educated (read-all) of the members out there. Some of you claim that "dogs bite people, too"-idiots-that is not acceptable behavior in a domesticated animal. It is the norm for large carnivores, so if your big cat, wild canid, bear, or large primate bites some one, you can be held on charges of criminal negligence. You are expected to have been aware of the extraordinary danger that a wild animal poses-that is why most places do NOT allow them. Every animal I have here is manageable by me, because I am aware that at any moment, they may be stimulated to react in a normal, wild, manner. That is why I bear a few scars-black bears can bite exceedingly hard! I have a cougar that was brought to me at 10 weeks of age, and 99.9% of the time she loves me-its the .1% that gets people killed. Your arguments that people should be able to take the risk themselves is fine, but what about the people who did not volunteer to be hurt when your animal escapes-and it will.
I do sympathize with your feelings toward owning wild animals, however, it almost always ends badly-for the owners and the animals. That is why so such an enormous percentage of them end up in sanctuaries like mine. As adults, wild animals are unsuitable for pets. More than 100 tigers are killed in this country every year because there is no room in sanctuaries. I have had to turn away at least ten in the last 5 years, and I hate to think about what happened to them! Pay your money to a sanctuary, and go visit the animals there-at least you will be doing a good thing, and not a selfish, stupid one.
"Give me a break"
"Your arguments that people should be able to take the risk themselves is fine, but what about the people who did not volunteer to be hurt when your animal escapes-and it will."THOUSANDS of private citizens own exotic pets. If what you say is true, then thousands of people would be mauled daily by people's pet tigers, lions, ocelots, servals, wolves, large snakes, primates etc.
But they're not.
From link at bottom of post:
"Experts estimate that there are around 10, 000 to 15, 000 tigers now kept as pets or in private facilities in the US"
Better not go outside without a helmet. A big scary tiger might jump out and eat you at any moment since they're always escaping and all.
"...but what about the people who did not volunteer to be hurt when your animal escapes-and it will."
That same "logic" can be used to ban dogs over 20 pounds as well. The little boy mauled by someone else's Siberian Husky while walking down the street with his dad didn't volunteer for that either.
And please inform me of the latest exotic pet attack where someone who was not a member of the household or who voluntarily came to the animal was attacked. The fact is, you are more likely to be struck and killed by lightning than being attacked by someone else's exotic pet.
And why is it not acceptable for a dog to bite, but it is for a captive bred exotic? Dogs are animals too. One generation away from human contact and they can be just as dangerous, or even moreso, than a wild wolf since they do not fear humans as much. Lots of aggressive and dangerous dogs, many that cannot be helped with any amount of therapy because they simply do not like humans, are killed every day at shelters.
"I do sympathize with your feelings toward owning wild animals, however, it almost always ends badly-for the owners and the animals. That is why so such an enormous percentage of them end up in sanctuaries like mine. As adults, wild animals are unsuitable for pets. More than 100 tigers are killed in this country every year because there is no room in sanctuaries. I have had to turn away at least ten in the last 5 years, and I hate to think about what happened to them! Pay your money to a sanctuary, and go visit the animals there-at least you will be doing a good thing, and not a selfish, stupid one."
Again, 7 million dogs are killed per year. So why not stop breeding dogs and ban them as pets? We don't need pet dogs. Dogs bite over 4 million people resulting in the hospitalization of 6000 to 13000 people each year in the United States.
And why is 7 million dogs dying per year acceptable, but not 100 tigers?
I also like how you tell people to give you money to go see your animals. So not only do you get to keep exotics, while telling other people they cannot have them, you also get other people to pay for their upkeep. If captivity is so horrible for these animals, why do you not euthanize them to save them from their misery?
Why do you think you are competent enough to own them, but no one else?
No one here advocates putting a tiger in a kennel in a backyard. I just do not see why a responsible private citizen who has the time, space and money should not be able to own a tiger, ocelot, alligator, primate, etc. if that is what they choose.
"Sanctuary Owner"
First-I agree that RESPONSIBLE people should be allowed to own exotic animals-I do. Unfortunately, present company excepted, they aren't on this site!. Second-I am not open to the public-I was referring to sanctuaries that are. I never said that keeping these animals in captivity is cruel-they live better than they would in the wild. When I said it never ends well, I meant that the owners usually end up is some sort of legal trouble, or they realize too late that they aren't equipped to handle them as adults, so the animal gets uprooted, and (hopefully)finds a suitable home.
Your point about dog bites is well taken, but your point about 7 million dogs dying is not. That is every bit as wrong as the 100 tigers, but I am only working on my little niche here. (I also foster shelter dogs-we do what we can)
