Regulation of Exotic Animals Editorial

 

Dear Editor,

 

I have always had a soft spot for animals.  Growing up, instead of sitting in front of a television, I read Zoobooks, and was always outside exploring the natural world right in my own backyard.  By the time I was in high school, I came to the realization that animals are something I am always going to be strongly interested, and I began to be more and more intrigued by the world’s creatures.  Now that I am on the cusp of owning my own residence, I am eager to have my own pet.  However, the traditional animals such as cats and dogs do not really interest me, so I have been exploring the possibility of an exotic pet.

The definition of an exotic pet is always changing, although it currently seems to be anything besides dogs, cats, fish, or small birds, although I am looking at stranger animals as a possible companion.  However, in my research, I came to the realization that this is no easy task, and have been somewhat disturbed by some of the information I found.  It seems that many people who take on the challenge of raising an exotic animal do not consider how difficult it can be. Most exotic animals have a very specific diet, which can be hard to maintain.  Often the animal gets too large, or behaves in a manner that is dangerous for the owner, such as in Stamford, Connecticut chimpanzee attack back in February.  People seem to forget that these are wild animals, and often times are not properly qualified to raise them.

I know that black markets exist and a wide array of animals are circulated illegally (just last week I came across a webpage selling anything from rhinos to sharks, which can’t be legal.) but surely there must be a better way to go about regulating exotic animals?  Rules such as the ones that ban the import of primates but permits breeding show that there are still many loopholes in the regulation process.  The fact is, these are all wild animals, and unless the owner is properly qualified, they put both themselves and their pet in danger. Does anyone else see a problem with the current system?

 

Brad Fishkin