the ASPCA's characterization of exotic pets

[jclee]

For those of you in the United States:

I stumbled across this the other day:

http://www.aspca.org/adoption/adoption-tips/exotic-animals.html

I was a little horrified by the way that people like us are depicted on the ASPCA site, and so I wrote a letter to their general mailing address. The gist of my letter was that, while some of their grievances are valid, they are complaints that most of us share about the mistreatment of exotic pets. I explained that the generalizations were offensive, and that it would be more productive to revise their site to note the possible abuses/problems with exotic pets without generalizing, and with solutions or useful sites listed.

If anyone else is a little miffed at the ASPCA's anti-exotics-page, and would like to write a letter, the address that I wrote to was:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA)
424 E. 92nd St
New York, NY 10128-6804

*I'll be posting this on all of the exotics forums that I frequent; maybe they'll actually write a responsible page that discourages the impulse buying of exotic pets without lumping them all in as poorly maintained, aggressive disease vectors.

(Even if you don't write a letter, you can always read their webpage and play "spot the logical fallacies/inaccuracies." It would be fun if it weren't so infuriating.)

-JC Lee

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

I can see some animals not being right for captivity and just living with anyone. but come on bearded dragons, leos, chameleons, many of these wouldn't be able to live in the wild especially the morphs that have been created in captivity. quite a few are very easily bred in captivity too. Yes can be host to parasites and disease but if you have good hyigene and good husbandry then you are not likely to become sick from keeping exotic animals.

they should really come up with with a new exotic animal page because most things on there were not right. and really I consider exotics being like sugar gliders, chincillas, etc etc and then you have reptiles and amphiblians(sp?).

maybe i am just an idiot for thinking this i dont know. but i think they need to wake up and smell the coffee beans.

 

[T-ReXx]

You know, it's funny how much emphasis they put on the disease/parasite carrying factor, yet dogs and cats, the animals they "champion" carry far more zoonotic diseases and human-transmittable parasites than reptiles. Just a few of the nastier ones are MRSA, Scabies, Tape worms, Coccidia, and of course RABIES. Funny how the fact that reptiles are incapable of carrying one of the most deadly diseases on the planet and yet that's rarely mentioned. Or the fact that allergies to reptiles are very rare, and many people who are severely allergic to "traditional" pets can enjoy keeping herps with no discomfort. But of course that's not the important thing, the important thing is that they're not "cute and fuzzy" and therefore should be banned from everywhere but the deep dark, mirky jungles they hale from. The ASPCA is made up of idiot bigots. Specieists, all of them.

 

[PetVet]

Well said Ted (ha that rhymed)...I believe you summed up all of my rage in a very well worded paragraph.

 

[jclee]

That's part of what prompted me to write to them. They lump all "exotic" animals into one generalization, and NONE of the statements they make are true of ALL exotic pets; worse yet are the generalizations they make about exotic pet owners. MANY people who purchase exotic pets are under-informed, and fail to take good care of their animals. The same could be said of cats and dogs. This does not mean that ALL of us are horrible pet owners who should not be allowed to own exotic pets.

I'm all for any efforts to discourage impulse buying and/or mistreatment of animals, but they need to be couched in more accurate and responsible phrasing, and in the long run, they should spread accurate information rather than paranoid innacuracies.

 

[sunshinegeckofarm]

very true. i think there is a higher percentage of cats & dogs being mistreated and not taken care of than exotic animals.


they need to get there heads out of a hole in the ground.

 

[J&K's Lemy]

As one dealer of exotic animals put it, "If it walks, crawls, slithers or flies, chances are we have it." That's true of diseases, too. Estimates vary, but experts agree that at least one in three reptiles harbors salmonella and shigella. The percentage of reptiles with salmonella is probably 77 to 90 percent. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that 90 percent of imported green iguanas carry "some strain of intestinal bacteria."

don't plain old eggs "the ones we eat everyday" have salmonella

iguanas carry intestinal bacteria just like dogs cats and humans
ain't that something all animals have

And who really wants to buy from the lowlife that's got it all anyway
we buy from breeders

 

[katie_]

It would surprize me to know that NO ONE that works for them owns a hamster, or a budgie...hypocrites.

 

[LeopardShade]

As someone else on here already mentioned, the fact that leopard geckos and bearded dragons are on the same list as honey bears and black panthers is absolutely ridiculous. There is so much misinformation and generalization on that article it renders me speechless.

 

[Lickystevie]

I can't believe they put something about leopard geckos, which are sold in pet stores, while that crappy general exotics has alligators, and the ASPCA has done nothing to attack them. We are innocent and good pet owners, owning a reptile that has been kept safely for at least thirty years! How dare they compare us to that crazy guy in the midwest who kept all those bug cats and monkeys secretly! We are innocent! Leopard geckos are sweet animals! I might as well go tell them that cats aren't domesticated, because they won't do anything when you tell them to. Not only have leopard geckos been domesticated into many different morphs, but crested gecko have had a completely captively bred population since the 90s! No one has imported them since them, and the entire population is from 10 individuals that some scientists LEGALLY brought into the country!

 

[Lickystevie]

Not only the leopard geckos, but they also list bearded dragons and veiled chameleons, both of which petsmart sells. They even list potbellied pigs! Are they gonna tell a farmer that it's illegal to keep a pig! Many people keep them as pets! How the f&$@ are they domestic!? They were literally the first animal to be domesticated, in the world!

 

[Lickystevie]

And I am definitely sure that you will NOT get monkey pox from a gecko. True, reptiles often carry salmonella, however that word is spelled, but they don't think that we are smart enough thoroughly wash our hands after handling them, which is, by the way, safe. If anything, cat and dog owners, who never wash their hands after touching their pets, are more likely to get a disease from their animal than we are. And if they get sick, almost all vets know how to treat a leopard gecko!

 

[Lickystevie]

According to these guys, the only pets that are supposed to be pets are cats, dogs, rodents and horses! How the hell do they think that a leopard gecko is more dangerous than a horse! They generalized so much as to say that all reptiles are dangerous to people and their neighbors. Now, that may be true with a reticulated python, but a leopard gecko, seven inches long, no teeth. That's literally saying that a newborn baby is a danger to you. We know more about reptiles than these idiots do!

 

[Dimidiata]

DUDE USE THE EDIT BUTTON

 

[Lickystevie]

?

 

[Dimidiata]

You freaking posted like 7 times! if you have something to add then EDIT YOUR POST. Dont make a new one and destroy my inbox.

 

[NinjaDuo]

He's new..... Give him a break

 

[Lickystevie]

Ninjaduo is right. I'm a newbie to forums, so deal with me posting five things. Life is life.

 

[Lickystevie]

I'm posting on here using an iPhone app, and I can't edit using it. The point is, Dimidiata, are you a real reptile and or animal lover. If so, there's a website that you have to see. Go to www.petsorfood.com

 

[Dimidiata]

I'm posting on here using an iPhone app, and I can't edit using it. The point is, Dimidiata, are you a real reptile and or animal lover. If so, there's a website that you have to see. Go to www.petsorfood.com

You know its a scam right?

Your new, so i felt compelled to make you aware of forum etiquette.