Throughout the United States, numerous families own pets and consider them as family members. Dogs and cats tend to be the most popular, yet there has been an increasing popularity in owning exotic wildlife. For most people, owning wildlife can be seen as entirely irrational as these animals require an environment similar to their natural habitat. Due to their lack of human interaction, wild animals pose a potential safety hazard to both owners and neighbors. In New York, the state passed a law restricting any wildlife being kept as pets in homes after encountering a tiger who was captured in an apartment in Harlem. Other wildlife such as ferrets have become more popular as pets, yet due to their aggressive behavior among young children, California …show more content…
To tackle this problem, the city restricts citizens from owning no more than four animals. Wildlife and numeric restrictions must be instilled as it puts both the animal and owner’s health at risk. However, other citizens may see animal restrictions as unreasonable because it prevents responsible citizens from rescuing various animals and having a positive impact on their lives. Yet, from a legal standpoint, restrictions should exist in order to ensure the safety and well-being of not only the animal, but also the community at large. As many species pose a particular risk to humans in an urban environment, public policy in the United States must be enforced in order to not only maintain the welfare of animals, but also the safety of the general public.
Tigers can be seen as one of many species that could be potentially dangerous when kept in captivity, more so in a residential neighborhood. In the state of New York, the government passed a law prohibiting the possession or sale of big cats and other wild animals as pets (Department of New York Conservation, 2013). Although this restriction
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According to San Francisco’s Department of Public Health, homes are legally allowed to have four or fewer small animals (CDFA, 2018). Yet, the city has faced citizens not abiding this numeric restriction as found in a household of people owning 40 rabbits where they had the intention of selling these rabbits for meat (CDFA, 2018). The city health code prohibits the sale and use of commercial purposes of rabbits in San Francisco (CDFA, 2018). Although some citizens view numeric restrictions to be arbitrary, they are made to ensure the well-being of the animal. In the case of families that are financially stable to provide a healthy life for various animals, the city enforces such numeric restrictions to prevent any noise, odor or health nuisances. Even if a citizen is financially secure to provide for multiple animals, obtaining more than four pets in an apartment in San Francisco is reasonable to restrict because it ensures the overall well-being of the animals. It allows the animals to have a spacious environment where they can freely interact, receive proper care, and be safe from potential health risks. Numeric restrictions in populated cities like San Francisco permit less noise, odor, and health concerns from neighbors as citizens tend to be concerned about their personal property. Animals animal must receive proper
Have you ever had the pleasure of sitting beside an animal on the Skytrain on your commute to work or stood in line beside one at the grocery store? Did you know that there's a difference between service dogs and emotional-support animals? These are one of the many struggles that individuals are faced when in public. The article "Pets Allowed" written by Patricia Marx gives you an inside look on the struggles people are faced with while also explaining the rules and laws regulating emotional-support animals that many aren't aware of. Many business owners are being taken advantage of by pet
Therefore, animal abuse is a growing trend in today’s society. This trend is bad for today’s society for reasons including death row for the animals, an increase in cost for animal shelters, and a decrease in space for the animals to be safe. Society can stop animal abuse by reporting anything they might see. Together, our society can put a stop to animal abuse, and protect our domesticated pets.
In 1989, there were 12,152 deer-vehicle accidents in the USA in which four people died and over 450 people were injured (7). What humans do not realize is the damage deer are causing to their environment, the human population, and themselves. Until a decision is reached regarding deer population control, the present state of overpopulation will continue to affect humans and the environment alike. Environmentalists call this problem the Urban Deer Dilemma. This occurs when the number of deer exceeds the ability of the environment to support the deer (2).
According to the article “Pet Statistics” by the ASPCA estimates there are 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats owned in the United States. It is impossible to determine the number of stray dogs and cats, but the ASPCA estimates there are 70 million cats alone that are strays in the US (“Pet Statistics”). The overpopulation of dogs and cats live either on the streets and die each day, they live in a shelter and try to get adopted, but even then they die. The ASPCA states that nationwide about 7.6 million companion animals enter the shelter and of the 7.6 million approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats (“Pet Statistics”).
The current situation today, is that horses and donkeys have exceeded the amount to keep an ecological balance; from 26,600 wildlife to 38,300 wildlife. The horse program enacted by the bill passed in 1971, costs the government approximately $49 million a year. It takes the majority of the budget to manage the already captured horses; taking into account the life of the horses, it has been concluded that the total cost would be closer to $1 billion (Dean Bolstad, Roundup of Wild Horses…). A Federal law, allows the Bureau of Land Management to kill “excess horses to maintain what it calls ‘a thriving natural ecological balance’” (Ginger Kathrens). However, due to retaliation of animal right groups, the BLM has not taken any measures to eliminate
Throughout the world, wild cats, reptiles and primates live peacefully in their natural habitats. Despite this, every year more and more of these exotic animals are becoming domestic pets. Keeping exotic animals as pets is unsafe and should therefore be made illegal. They pose a risk of injury, disease and invasion of the natural environment. Some people believe that keeping a pet does not pose a risk if properly kept and trained.
Thousands of animals are put to sleep each year due to not having any available homes for them to be adopted. According to Jennifer Sexton and Tom Warhol in Domestic Animal Overpopulation, “The average female cat can produce two litters of six kittens per year, a female dog can produce one litter of six or more puppies per year, making pet overpopulation a significant problem.” Animal overpopulation is costing money and you can help the pets with spay and neutering programs. A new solution is mandatory contracts for breeders and spay and neuter programs. This paper will talk about spay and neuter programs, contracts for breeders, and why some people don’t think animal overpopulation is a problem. Thankfully there are solutions to this issue of animal overpopulation.
Exotic animals, such as lions, tigers, and bears might seem like cute and cuddly pets at first, however, little do people know how dangerous and endangered these furry creatures truly are. In this case exotic means coming from foreign countries all over the world. The want for exotic animals in the United States and all across the globe is in very high demand. People are taking them from their natural habitats and putting them in a cage for the rest of their life. It is predicted that the demand will keep going up and animals will become more endangered, if nothing is done about it. Therefore, the ownership of exotic animals should be banned in America because it is dangerous to humans and they are mostly endangered. Although some disagree that they should be able to own any animal for various reasons.
The general public has a lack of understanding of animal hoarding. Many citizens do not realize that anyone can report abuse (Donaghey 2011). There are “…900 to 2,000 new cases [found] every year… with a quarter million animals falling victim” in the United States alone (Animal). If every hoarder has a neighbor on either side there are at least 4,000 witnesses to these crimes yearly. One reason for witnesses not reporting cases is the unknown fact that hoarded animals “range in species from cats and dogs to reptiles, rodents, birds, exotics and even farm animals” (Animal). Hoarded animals show signs of abuse which witnesses can detect such as heartworms, embedded collars, beaten, social issues, emaciated, or if they generally look unhealthy (Donaghey 2011).
PETA states that, since before the 1920’s there has been animal experimentation. Not until President Lyndon Johnson signed the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act (LAWA) in 1966, animals in the United States had no protection in laboratories, circuses, and zoos over breeding, transportation, housing, feeding, and veterinary care. The LAWA is now called the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). (Williams, and DeMello)
Years ago, killing animals for food was part of the average man’s everyday life. While, now a days, hunting is questioned by many across the world because it is commonly viewed as a recreational activity. Many residents have a problem with the dangers that come with hunting. Not to mention, as time goes on, society seems to feel differently about animals and how they should be treated. One of the biggest debates is the harvest of white tailed deer. All over the United States, white tailed deer thrive because of the few predators that feast upon them and the large forests and habitats that these deer can flourish in. However, as buildings and subdivisions pop up left and right decreasing the white tailed deer natural habitat, the debate grows stronger. The heart of the debate is centered around ethical issues, human and deer conflicts, safety, and the benefits hunting has on the economy.
The exotic pet trade is a booming industry, raking in millions of dollars every year. Everything from harmless leopard geckos to hyenas can be found in 30 of the 50 states. Of those 30 states, only 21 require permits to own these animals (Webber 2010). Indiana has just recently withdrawn its own requirement for permits, making 10 states that allow any kind of exotics without documentation (Kelly 2015). It is estimated that 15,000 big cats are being kept as pets in the United States alone, with more captive tigers in Texas than there are in India. Approximately 15,000 primates and 7.3 million reptiles are also being kept in the US (Webber 2010). What does all of this mean and, more importantly, what can be done about it?
While there are many reasons a person may wish to raise their own chickens, not everyone in their neighborhood may support the idea. Chickens frequently make noises, which may disturb those with sensitive hearing. Also, negligent practices can lead to odor problems. This is especially a concern to those in areas of warmer climates, such as the Central Valley where temperatures often reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Ordinances are already in effect in most cities for dogs and other pets. Whether they require owners to obtain licenses or serve to restrict the general noise level in an area, these laws are usually in place for the protection of both the animals and the humans that live among them. It seems only fair that if chickens are considered acceptable pets in an area, current laws should be amended to include them or new, similar protections should be put in place.
"Pet Overpopulation : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. The Humane Society of
Apart from that, owning a pet forces one to take on the responsibility of keeping it alive. One’s pet must be fed, watered, and kept healthy. Doing this requires us to move about.