On October 18, 2011 over 50 large exotic animals were set free from their backyard zoo in Zanesville, Ohio by their owner Terry Tempos who later took his own life, according to Mark Guarino, staff writer for ABC News. The local police slaughtered 48 of the renegade animals instead of trying to capture them. In the United States, unqualified civilians owning exotic animals is a potentially dangerous problem that, if not properly dealt with, could lead to the endangerment, injury or even death of innocent animals and people. I believe the best way to handle the problem is to create stricter laws on the owning, purchase, shelter and sale of exotic animals. Hopefully, this will keep animals like tigers and bears out of the hands of everyday people. In the United States the laws on owning large exotic animals such as tigers are vague and surprisingly rare. There is only one Federal law on owning exotic animals and ideally, to comply, you should be affiliated with an animal rescue or animal study program to qualify for it. States with laws for exotic animals are still in the single digits. Those laws are non-descript and repetitive. Even though laws may exist it is extremely difficult to enforce them because there is no group or organization to enforce them. This allows people to be able to obtain exotic animals for a low price in places like auction houses and the internet. It has been known for people to buy infant tigers and lions for as little as $400 each. State laws prohibits the owning of large animals but often ignore legislation on smaller creatures. Exotics like birds, reptiles and monkeys have a tendency to be as, if not more dangerous, and more invasive than their larger counterparts. This can lead to human ... ... middle of paper ... ...ehaviour 124(3-4) 1993, pp. 165-195. (15) Sunquist, Melvin E. The Social Organization of Tigers (Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology Number 336. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981. (6) Sunquist, Mel. Wildcats of the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002. Thapar, Valmik. Tiger The Ultimate Guide. New York: CDS Books in association with Two Brothers Press, 2004. Tilson, Ronald L. and Ulysses S. Seal, ed. Tigers of the World. Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Publications, 1987. (5) Ward, Geoffrey C. "The People and the Tiger." Audubon July/August 1994, pp.62-69. (16) World Wildlife Fund. "U.S. Gives Notice to China and Taiwan to Stop Rhino and Tiger Trade." Traffic USA 13(1) 1994, pp. 1-3. (11) World Wildlife Fund. "Species of Special Concern." Focus. Vol. 17 No. 6. November/December 1995, p. 4.
Drury, C. "Animal Diversity Web." ADW: Monodon Monoceros: INFORMATION. University of Michigan, 2002. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.
U.S. Department of the interior, National Park Service. (2013). Endangered Species. Retrieved from website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/endangeredspecies/index.cfm
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?
Exotic pets threaten the safety of the community for they pose potential risks of injury and fatality. Natural animal instincts and lack of proper care can trigger destructive behaviours of animals, injuring their owners or other community members. There has been a total of 543 human injuries and 75 deaths as a result of exotic pets, including 52 year old woman killed by a Bengali tiger (http://channel.nat......). These numbers illustrate the risk that exotic animals pose to owners and community members. Keith Gisser, an exotic reptile owner claims he's “not the kind of animal owner neighbours need to worry about”, yet Brian Johnson Gisser's neighbour says on of the reptile owner's snakes escaped into his backyard (www.wkyc.com....). Injury and fatalities are a risk, endangering the community when exotic animals are kept as pets which is yet another reason why owning them should be illegal.
Kukol, Zuzana. "Let People Own Exotic Animals." USA Today 21 Oct. 2011, Opposing View sec.: n. pag. Middle Search Plus. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. .
“Many airlines now ban shipments of African “Big Five wildlife trophies. Celebrities around the world, as well as the media, are condemning the illegal killing of animals for sport. The United Nations has also spoken out in a historic resolution on wildlife trafficking by the U.N. General Assembly that “strongly encouraged governments to commit to targeted actions to eradicate supply, transit and demand for illegal wildlife products” (Source 4). Countries, media, and celebrities are now discouraging the illegal killing of large game and urges the governments of many countries to enact laws to stop the black market distribution of these predators. It is important to prohibit illegal trophies and to enforce these laws with punishments and fines to remove species from the endangered species list and stop extinctions. Stricter laws and regulations can protect and save entire species from ceasing to exist. “Just months after the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History accepted a $20 million donation from big-game hunter Kenneth Behring, the Institution sought a FWS permit to import the trophy remains of two endangered wild sheep that Behring shot in Central Asia…After a storm of ugly publicity, the Smithsonian abandoned the permit application” (Source 1). The case of the Smithsonian Museum attempting to import two endangered sheep is just one
Large snakes such as Burmese python are very dangerous animals. Some states have their own laws to prevent people from owning them as pets. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission states “State law requires that people have permits to possess Burmese pythons, or any Reptile of Concern.” (1). The Burmese python and other snakes like this one can d...
Periodically, there are news stories about a giant pet snake that eats a kid, or a pet cobra that escapes and terrorizes a town. Most people think these stories are exaggerated, however, these stories are completely true. People keep exotic animals as pets for the wow factor. Humans believe they can control all animals regardless if the animal is dangerous or not. Some people like keeping deadly animals in their house because it gives them that shock factor. Or, owning a venomous snack makes them feel powerful. Only trained professionals should work with large carnivorous reptiles, venomous reptiles and large snakes capable of constricting a person to
Not only the animals being owned but all the other animals in the wild, 19 species are predicted to go extinct by 2023, 8 of them is because of people owning exotic pets. Exotic pets are dieing because they are escaping from their cages and being killed by authorities. They are also dieing because they are committing suicide on themselves, this can happen when the animal gets so stressed of their daily life in a cage, there has been cases when animals hit themselves on the head using their cages wall. People buying exotic animals are not only affecting the animal (Pet) but are also affecting other animals in the wild. The food chains are collapsing, if an animal eats the animal that are barely in the wild because of people using them as exotic pets that wild animal might die because of the lack of food and and so on, therefore depopulating ecosystems. In the end this is a serious matter of animals going endangered and extinct that needs a
...ople should have the right to own an exotic animal as long as they agree to follow appropriate rules set by any form of government or organization, and allow officials to routinely inspect the conditions that the animals are living in.
FWS. "Endangered Species Act | Overview." Endangered Species. Fish & Wildlife Service, 15 July 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. .
Tigers are the largest members of the cat family. They live in Asia and belong to the same genus as the lion, leopard, and jaguar. Two major subspecies of the tiger are the Siberian tiger and the Bengal tiger. The tiger is thought to have originated in northern Asia during the Pleistocene Epoch.
Several species on Earth are on the endangered species list and are given special protection to insure the species survives. Sometimes the protection of these species is not enough for the guarantee of survival. Many factors including human activity, and the failure of the species to adapt to change has caused the population of the majestic tiger to dwindle. Despite laws such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973, countries all over the world have failed to help this dying species. The editorial, “Tigers are tanking,” published by Globe & Mail, explains that tigers will be extinct in little as 12 years (Tigers are tanking). This was reported 3 years ago, leaving the countdown to 9 years. We can reverse the damage that has been done and it is not too late.
Lemonick, Michael D. “Who Belongs in the Zoo?” Time. Time, 11 June 2006. Web. 12 Dec.