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I just want everyone's take on this. Should individuals be able to own Asian Tigers, Chimpanzees, Indian Cobras, Black Bears, Alligators, etc.?Personally I don't think they should after this whole Travis the Chimp incident. I was told that Chimps are so powerful that if you threw one in a ring with three pit bulls that you'd end up with three dead pit bulls within minutes. One person who worked at a zoo said that a Chimp could probably hold it's own against a Grizzly Bear. I see it as being a public safety issue because these animals can escape and cause death & serious harm to people. Also, a lot of homeowners don't have effective containment/confinement areas like zoos have. Post your thoughts on this.
Here's the thing: for me, it's like smoking. If you want to smoke, go ahead, but keep it far away from me. Same thing with owning an exotic or dangerous animal. If you want to own one, then your house and land should be far enough away from mine that if your animal goes on the attack, I am no where near! I try not to put other people's lives at jeopardy and I expect the same respect back.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
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No. It should be outlawed. I cannot believe people are allowed to own wild animals like Tigers and Lions and keep them in residential areas around others. This is one reason I am glad we live in an HOA controlled neighbourhood. Only dogs (no pit bulls), cats and goldfish are allowed here.
It's a problem because it always comes down to personal rights. Which I'm all for protecting.
Animals labeled exotic, I think it's a lot easier to legislate it's illegality. With fewer objections. The issue comes up on a lower scale a lot with pit bulls. I wish it could made illegal, but not sure it can. Though, if it is allowable to keep them, I think they should be held responsible for anything the "pet" does. Criminally. As if you'd done it yourself. If the animal kills someone .. you go to jail for murder.
Not so much for the punishment issue, but as a preventative. If people thought that might be the penalty, they might not keep them.
Incidents like this always remind me of the Idaho folk who wanted to run a protection preserve for lions and tigers on their property. They unfortunately did not count on the strength and determination of cats in heat, and did not fence adequately. 22 big cats broke out one night, and it took forever for everyone to hunt them down. The 'owner' was charged not only for the damage the kitties did, but for the time and expense of the people who hunted them.
There are people who know what they are doing and who plan and prepare carefully for these situations, and there are idiots who think "owning that would be cool!" I think that they should be held responsible for any damages that they cause. Unfortunately, we all know the urban legends of the alligators, snakes, and piranha in the sewers, once the creatures become unmanagable, their owners simply and quietly get rid of them. Did you know, for example, that the giant spiders that live in the Iraq desert have started to proliferate in the desert of Nevada? No one knows who these creatures initially 'belonged' to. My father owned a chimp once; it was a nasty dirty foul thing and he fortunately found some single guy who wanted it.
Wild creatures should remain wild, and there should be strict laws for those who buy, sell, or own them and that prescribe EXACTLY the financial and social costs and responsibility associated with them. But there is always some idiot who thinks that she would look cool walking a black panther down a city street, or that parties at their house would be more fun with an alligator in the bathtub.
I don't think it should be allowed. Exotic animals should be left in their natural habitat PERIOD.
I agree 100%. I hate zoos as well.
But taking a small detour from the poster's intent...
It's the same with dogs such as pit bulls. Here is a dog that was bred with oine intent- to be a twisted killer. 100% of the people I know or have met that own them do so as a status symbol to get attention (ok, some own them so they can have a protector dog). When I adjusted home owner claims, I averaged 4-8 calls per month about people whos pit bulls suddendly and without warning turned on them or their children. It happens over and over again- funny thing is those same people still do not want to get rid of their pit bulls as that status symbol is more important to them than their children...
Many states have banned owning them (for good reason). I had to shoot a couple of them once as they were let loose by their owner (another commo ocurrance), got into the neighbor's back yard and were attacking some small children. The owner's were furios and threatened to sue me- they flat out couldn't care less for the injured kids. In retrospect, I probably should have shot them too and out them out of their misery.
Not only do I think owning exotic ie., dangerous animals as pets should be outlawed, I also feel certain breeds of dogs need to be outlawed. Pit bulls, Rotweillers, Doberman's are dangerous animals. If not trained properly (many pet owners do not know how to properly train their dogs) they can be very dangerous not just to the owners and their kids but to other people and their pets. All it takes is for one to get loose and things can go real bad. I have a guy in my neighborhood that owns and very aggressive pit-bull/boxer. This idiot allows his 9 year old daughter to walk the thing around the neighborhood while it pulls and lunges at people and other dogs. I don't have much confidence in this little girls ability to control this dangerous animal and whenver I see her walking the dog I usher my daughter into the house. It's bad enough we have people in this country who don't raise their own children properly, they have no business owning dangerous animals.
Exotic "pets" have caused no end of grief. One need look no further than the fact that the US now has a viable population of Boa's and Pythons to see that grief. To many idiots get these critters and just cut em' loose when they don't want them any more and here we are.. I saw a show (on Animal Planet I think) that has this problem popping up even in the colder regions of the country. These animals adapt and breed. I see a problem here. How many VENOMOUS snakes have been introduced that we don't even know about? I find the thought of stumbling across a Black Momba while out in the woods to be a bit disconcerting. There needs to be way stricter guidelines on the owning of exotic critters. OK, zoos, research centers and such ...fine. But an everday average guy has NO need to own exotics of any kind other than as a status symbol. I don't want nasty critters breeding in my backyard because some "bling king" wants to look good. I have enough predator and poisonous snake issues as it is.
Our laws don't really reflect the amount of responsibility pet owners need to take. If your dog were to kill someone, you'd be liable in a civil context (not helpful if you were broke to begin with), but only liable to a small extent in the criminal context, if at all. That should be revised.
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. I saw a show (on Animal Planet I think) that has this problem popping up even in the colder regions of the country. These animals adapt and breed. I see a problem here. How many VENOMOUS snakes have been introduced that we don't even know about? I find the thought of stumbling across a Black Momba while out in the woods to be a bit disconcerting. There needs to be way stricter guidelines on the owning of exotic critters. OK, zoos, research centers and such ...fine. But an everday average guy has NO need to own exotics of any kind other than as a status symbol. I don't want nasty critters breeding in my backyard because some "bling king" wants to look good. I have enough predator and poisonous snake issues as it is.
