ANIMAL WELFARE ISSUES

CONSIDER TO HAVING WILD ANIMALS AS PETS

Created By :Cahyaningtyas RDMutiara

Dwi Tientus

ARTICLES• An animal handler with

thousands of hours of experience has died after being mauled by a 1,000-pound lion-tiger hybrid he was feeding at an Oklahoma animal sanctuary.

• Peter Getz, 32, had entered the big cat’s enclosure on Wednesday while it was feeding, a violation of standard procedures. The hybrid cat, called a liger, bit Getz on the neck and back before other handlers rescued him and called 911. He was taken to a Tulsa hospital, where he died Thursday night.

On February 16 a 15-year-old chimpanzee named Travis seriously mauled a woman who was visiting the animal's owner -- Sandra Herold -- at a home in Stamford, CT. Herold made a terrified, shrieking 911 call, and tried stabbing Travis with a butcher knife.

PET PRIMATES ATTACK

According to this Esquire piece, St. James Davis was brutally attacked by two chimps at a sanctuary, after he and his wife arrived for a visit to celebrate the 39th birthday of Moe, the chimp they had kept as a pet for years. While Moe watched horrified from a cage, Davis was bowled over, had an eye gouged out, lost several fingers, and had his nose, lips and even teeth chewed off. One of the primates sunk his teeth into his skull while another bit his genitals off. Even a .45 couldn't stop the attack... until it was fired at very close range. Today Davis is severely disfigured and confined to a wheelchair.

August 2006, Chicago: A 14-year-old girl was hospitalized after a pet rhesus macaque monkey escaped from a cage. The girl's arm was reportedly "bitten to the bone."

June 2005, Morehead, Kentucky: A monkey reached through a car window and grabbed and bit a drive-thru worker, while the primate's owner was picking up an order.

November 2001, Cleveland, Ohio: Someone took their pet capuchin monkey out to a restaurant. It escaped and scratched up a diner, who later sued, describing the animal as ferocious and vicious.

August 2000, Jessamine County, Kentucky: A woman who was eight months pregnant was hospitalized after one of her two pet rhesus macaques attacked her when their cages were being cleaned. The woman was given anti-viral medication, a hazard to her pregnancy, due to fears the monkey might carry herpes B (as many do). She had allegedly been inspired to purchase the monkeys after seeing them ride bicycles in a circus.

PET REPTILES ATTACK

3-Year Old Strangled to Death by Pet PythonIn August 28, 1999, in Centralia, IL, a 3 year-old-boy was strangled to death by the family's pet 7 1/2-foot African rock python. The boy had compression marks around his chest and bite marks on his neck and ears, but no evidence of struggle was apparent. He had been sleeping with an aunt and uncle near the snake's aquarium at the time. Reportedly the parents were charged with child endangerment and unlawful possession of a dangerous animal

Venomous Snake Collector Attacked by His MenagerieA Virginia man who was keeping 50 to 60 venomous snakes in his basement (despite the fact that he had young kids in the house) ended up "bitten" by his hobby in 2001. Tom Townsend was apparently feeding a rat to his pet spectacled cobra (which comes from India) when it lounged at him. Townsend's life was saved in the nick of time after he was airlifted for treatment with antivenom. One of Townsend's exotic vipers was allegedly so deadly that a state biologist called it a "two-stepper," meaning "You get bit, you take two steps and die."

Oregon Collector Bit After Putting Rattlesnake in His MouthIt's a bit unclear if the rattlesnake in this incident was truly a pet, but according to accounts a young man by the name of Matt Wilkinson from Portland, Oregon had been keeping a reptile he found near the side of a road. Allegedly, Wilkinson was relaxing with his girlfriend and some beers when he decided to try to impress her by sticking the 20-inch rattler in his mouth. Perhaps surprising no one, the young man was bitten. He was rushed to a hospital and received a tracheotomy.

PET BIG CATS

ATTACKThe Mauling of Roy HornPerhaps the most famous recent tiger attack occurred on Oct 3, 2003, when Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy was bitten by the 600-pound white tiger Montecore at The Mirage in Las Vegas -- on the performer's 59th birthday no less. The seven-year-old tiger had been born in captivity and raised entirely by human beings. Although he was a performing animal, Montecore was also a close personal pet of Horn, so we thought the incident should be included. The event sparked national horror and debate about the role of exotic animals in entertainment and modern society.

10-Year-Old Girl Killed by Family PetIn another tragic tiger encounter, a 10-year-old girl helping her stepfather groom a big cat died after the tiger clamped her head in its jaws. "No big cat can be tamed or trained to be a safe, trustworthy actor or companion," claims an HSUS spokesperson. "No matter how long you've had the animal, or how well he's behaved in the past, every moment spent in direct contact with a lion or tiger brings with it the risk of injury or death for the human handler or owner." Perhaps 15,000 people keep lions, tigers, cougars and other big cats as pets.

10-Year-Old Dragged Under Fence to Death by TigerThink fences will keep you safe? In 2003 in Millers Creek, NC Ruth Bynum's 400-pound Bengal tiger dragged her 10-year-old nephew under a fence and into his cage, where the boy was mauled to death. Clayton James Eller had been shoveling snow and apparently got too close.

3-Year-Old Boy Has Arm Bitten Off by Uncle's PetIn March 2000 in Channelview, TX a 3-year-old boy had his arm bitten off by his uncle's "pet" tiger.Think only big cats can cause harm? Pet Lynx Mauls Young GirlIn August 2005 in Clackamas, OR, an escaped pet lynx pounced on a six-year-old girl and began clawing her head. Pet Bobcat Mauls ToddlerIn April 1997 in Dallas a pet bobcat mauled a toddler, who lost a finger, part of his heel and a bit of his cheek.

Wild animals often become very difficult pets, especially once they reach maturity

and / or full size. They can be aggressive and some larger pets are

dangerous simply due to the combination of sheer strength and natural instincts.

Furthermore, problem behaviors develop since animals in

captivity can become frustrated at not

being able to exhibit natural behavior, or

from being confined to small spaces.

I AM A KING. I DON’T BELONG IN

YOUR CAGE, BUDDY !

The Humane Society of the United States strongly opposes keeping wild animals as pets. This principle applies to both native and nonnative species, whether caught in the wild or bred in captivity. The overwhelming majority of people who obtain these animals are unable to provide the care they require.Caring for wild animals is difficult or impossible

Baby animals grow up

Wild animals spread disease

Domestication takes centuries

Capturing wild animals threatens their survival

Potential Problems With Keeping Wild Animals as Pets :1. Stress for the Animal: the stress of capture and transport and improper care in captivity can cause illness or death. Even for captive bred animals, being kept in confined spaces and the inability to exhibit natural behavior can be very stressful.2. Illegal Smuggling of Animals: there is a healthy black market for wild animals and related products which appears to be a growing problem. The black market in wildlife fuelled by mush more than the pet industry, but the demand for increasingly rare exotic pets does contribute to the problem. Authorities estimate that the black market in wildlife is valued in the billions of dollars, second only to illegal drug trafficking. Especially in the case where animals are caught and transported illegally it is estimated that many animals die for each one that eventually becomes someone's pet. See Wildlife Smuggling Boom Plaguing L.A., Authorities Say (National Geographic News, July 26, 2007) for more on this topic.3. Declining Populations: capture of animals for the pet trade can contribute to declining wild populations of some species.4. Exotic Diseases: wild animals can carry diseases transmissable to humans (e.g. the mild Monkeypox outbreak in the U.S. in 2003, which was thought ot have originated via an imported Gambian rat from Africa).5. Invasive Species: the importation and movement of non-native species for the pet trade has led to several cases of pet species becoming invasive species and disrupting local ecossytems when the pets escape or are released. Examples include red eared sliders in many locations, and iguanas and burmese pythons in Florida.

 

-For the animals’ sake and for your health and safety, please do not buy exotic animals as “pets.”

-If you observe an exotic animal being abused, living in deplorable conditions, etc., report it to the appropriate animal control agency.

-Educate others. Write a Letter to the Editor. Share this fact sheet with friends and family.

-Support legislation at all levels to prohibit private possession of exotic animals.

-Find out how your state, city and county regulates private possession of exotic animals. For more information, see our website. If your state, city or county does not prohibit private possession, contact your state senator and representative or your city and county council members and urge them to introduce legislation banning possession of exotic animals.

You can do several things to help stop private possession of exotic animals:

If you are considering a wild animal as a pet, the first thing to do is check the laws where you live. There may be local laws

(at your city or county level), or laws at the state/provincial or federal levels that

restrict the types of pet you may keep. Don't rely on information from the internet, and don't assume just because you can find

an animal for sale locally that it is legal where you are. Get official confirmation;

ignorance of the law will not protect you or your pet if you are turned in or discovered,

and your pet will likely be confiscated.

LET THEM LIVE ON THEIR own should be