A Tighter Leash on Exotic Pets

Article: A Tighter Leash on Exotic Pets
By: Sarah Maslin Nir for the January 10, 2012 edition of the New York Times

The events of October 2011 in Zanesville, Ohio were rather bizarre. Terry Thompson, a collector of exotic creatures, set 56 wild animals loose in Zanesville prior to his suicide. Mr. Thompson's actions prompted officials to murder 49 of the animals, which include endangered Bengal tigers, lions and lionesses, a baboon, mountain lions, grizzly and black bears, and wolves. Following these unfortunate events, the New York Times delved deeper into the business of exotic animals. The opening of the article is focused on the Lolli Brothers Livestock Market, which is a purveyor of exotic animals. A few of the animals available for auction are zebus, which are cows the size of Labrador retrievers, ostriches, lion cubs, llamas, baby African porcupines, baby sloths, zebra foal, and kangaroo joeys. The Brothers’ customers purchase the animals for zoos, private petting and animal parks, or as their own personal pets. Recently, however, many of these customers’ and the government’s views on the matter are clashing. The U.S. government has been steadily increasing the restrictions and regulations, as well as the insurance, on owning exotic animals. The number of permits required to keep these animals has also been on the rise. Charly Seale, head of the Exotic Wildlife Association, which represents breeders of exotic hoofed animals, has said, “If the rules and the regulations become so cumbersome the breeder is not going to do it. It can kill people’s livelihoods.” The addition of new restrictions is the government’s response to the multiple outbreaks of attacks from exotics animals kept as pets.

It really shouldn’t be legal to keep exotic animals as pets. If you really admire wild animals, and would love to have contact with them, then do the right thing and observe them in their natural habitats. Seeing them in their original environments allows you to have a glimpse of their true nature and see their beauty for what it really is. Keeping them cooped up in pens and artificial preserves does not do them justice, nor does it respect them. Someone who loves animals would not purchase an animal for the sole purpose of keeping it on display to appreciate it every once in a while as one does with a piece of art. Animals are living, breathing entities that deserve to live in peace in their own environments. Not only is it perverse, disgusting, and irrational to keep a wild animal as a pet, it is also incredibly dangerous for the citizens of the community in which it lives. A woman in Stamford, Connecticut was mauled by her friend’s pet chimpanzee in 2009 and, as a result, had to endure a grueling procedure that reconstructed her entire facial structure and all of her features. A member of the committee responsible for drafting Ohio’s new laws on the subject matter and director of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Jack Hanna says, “…the potential hazards exotic animals posed outweighed other factors. ‘I’ve seen a grizzly bear take apart a concrete container or steel like it’s a marshmallow.’” He also gave an account about how a lion tore off a toddler’s arm in 1973 and how he witnessed, “…A grizzly bear take apart a concrete container or steel like it’s a marshmallow.” These gruesome stories are valid proof that it is not only ethically incorrect, but also extremely hazardous to keep wild animals in captivity. I’m hopeful that sometime in the future, the government’s restrictions on keeping wild animals will be so severely strict, that it will be nearly impossible for anyone to harbor exotic animals. Only when these regulations are in place will we be able to learn that animals should be respected and observed in their indigenous habitats. 

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