Wild Animals as Pets?

[Tastee]

How do you feel about people owning wild animals as pets? And how do you feel about the incident that happened with Siegfried & Roy when the tiger attacked Roy?


www.Siegfried&Roy.com/home/index.php.

[Chris]

I think people should be able to keep any animal as long as the animal doesn't pose a danger to anyone and the animal is well kept and maintained. I think I heard about the incident which resulted in Siegfried and Roy closing their shows indefinitely after so many years.

[Cocoa]

I'll stick to dogs, cats, birds and fishes, the rest I consider unappropriate for my home.

[Drew]

so you wouldn't want a shark tank cocoa??

[Cocoa]

Shark?? LOL you are so funny...no sah.

[Greatis]

I want a cub tiger, I want a tiger, I want a tiger.

[Drew]

i thought i was the only one who would want a pet tiger. white tiger to be exact. those things are really cute when they're young.

[AngelsKiss]

Personally I have a thing against keeping wild animals as pets, simply because I believe they should be in the wild. I feel I would be restricting them by taking them out of their natural environment. I don't even like the idea of keeping birds as pets.

[Drew]

well angel think about leaving them in the wild for someone to come and kill them. or in your safety where u can protect them. and hopefully not yourself.

[Greatis]

Although that maybe true Angel I am going to ignore that and be selfish. I want a tiger

[AngelsKiss]

well angel think about leaving them in the wild for someone to come and kill them. or in your safety where u can protect them. and hopefully not yourself.

Yeah that's the argument some people like to use. So what are you going to do, keep all wild animals as pets to keep them safe from predators? I am sure you wouldn't want to be kept as a pet to keep you safe from whatever is out there that might endanger your life. So how about me taking you home with me and keeping you as a pet. We will see how you like it?:)

[Greatis]

Yeah that's the argument some people like to use. So what are you going to do, keep all wild animals as pets to keep them safe from predators? I am sure you wouldn't want to be kept as a pet to keep you safe from whatever is out there that might endanger your life. So how about me taking you home with me and keeping you as a pet. We will see how you like it?:)

Keep me pls keep me pls :icon_mrgr

Angel hmmm don't make an offer like that he will like it :icon_lol:

[Kitten]

Here is an article about the Tiger that was shot that belonged to the actor who played Tarzan. I dont think people should have these animals as pets. I dont agree with it.



Tarzan's Tiger Shot to Death After Florida Escape (Reuters)

MIAMI (Reuters) - Wildlife officers shot and killed a 600-pound tiger called Bobo on Tuesday after it escaped from the Florida home of a B-movie actor who played Tarzan.

Officers hunted the fugitive cat for more than 24 hours in thick scrub around Loxahatchee, 50 miles north of Miami. They spotted it on Tuesday afternoon and hoped to use a tranquilizer dart to recapture it, but the animal lunged at them and was fatally shot, officials said.

"The tiger attacked one of our officers. Our officers unfortunately had no choice but to use lethal fire and shot the tiger," a wildlife official told reporters at the scene. "We're very, very sad to report the tiger is deceased."

The 6-year-old male tiger, which actor Steve Sipek raised since it was a cub, was declawed but not defanged. It was not necessarily considered a threat to local residents, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Willie Puz said before the animal was killed.

"From what I'm told, it's the first time it's been away from home so it's checking to see if it's greener on the other side of the fence, I don't know," Puz said.

Sipek, who played Tarzan in two movies in 1969 and 1972 under the screen name Steve Hawkes, looks after mistreated big cats and has another tiger, two lions, a black leopard and a cougar. Local newspapers said the cats roamed freely around his home.

Sipek had long had a permit to keep exotic wildlife as pets, said Puz.

Local residents were escorted to and from their houses, if they requested it, during the hunt for the elusive cat.

Some decided to help wildlife officers hunt for Bobo.

Linda Meredith packed a live Yorkshire pig in the trunk of her Cadillac and offered its services in drawing the tiger back home, the Sun-Sentinel newspaper reported.

"He has all these humans screaming at him, but he doesn't want that. He wants dinner and that's a pig squealing," she said.

The wildlife officers thanked Meredith but sent her and her pig packing.

[AngelsKiss]

Keep me pls keep me pls :icon_mrgr

Angel hmmm don't make an offer like that he will like it :icon_lol:

LOL...You and Drew think me keeping you as a pet would be fun right? I suppose if you don't mind walking around with a leash on and being parade in public hey who am I to complain?:) ;)

[Kitten]

Another article on keeping these kinds of animals. Thank God for the net and you can look these things up! :icon_mrgr


Exotic pets dwelling closer to home

By Mark Schwed, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 18, 2004

For two years, Antoine Yates kept a 400-pound tiger named Ming in his small
New York City apartment -- until the tiger mauled him and sent him to the
hospital with serious injuries.

In Colton, Calif., state officials raided a former animal trainer's ranch
and found 39 tigers, including 11 cubs hidden in a crawl space in the attic,
and 58 dead tiger and lion cubs stuffed in his freezer.

New Jersey officials gunned down an escaped tiger, only to find he belonged
to a woman who was keeping 29 of the beasts in her back yard.
And today a public funeral is scheduled for Bobo, the 600-pound
Siberian-Bengal mix who escaped from his owner's compound in rural
Loxahatchee, only to be shot and killed by a wildlife officer who said he
feared for his life. Bobo was buried Saturday in a private service.
What in the world is going on with all these tigers?

Quite simply, a population explosion of one of the most magnificent
creatures on the planet, and one of the most endangered. But this mating
marathon isn't happening in the wild, it's in America, especially Florida.
According to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, there are now 15,000
captive tigers in the private sector, three times the number of wild tigers
in Africa and Asia combined, more tigers than people know what to do with.
"Virtually every day I get a call from someone who wants to get rid of a
tiger or big cat," says Carole Lewis, 43, who has 150 of the beasts at her
Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. "I turned away 312 last year. The problem is that
number is doubling every year. It's getting worse and worse. It's insane.
It's reached a crisis point."

Even though Florida has an outright ban on possessing tigers as personal
pets, the state now has 1,455 registered tigers, a 50 percent increase in 15
months and second only to Texas in the nation. Florida also has 262 U.S.
Department of Agriculture-licensed exhibitors for big cats, more than any
other state. And wildlife activists say there are now more tiger breeders in
the state than anywhere else.

Dangers of the business

Florida is on its way to becoming the tiger capital of the world.
"It's downright scary," says Linda Howard, a captive wildlife specialist who
keeps track of big cat populations in America. "Those 1,455 registered
tigers are the legal ones. It doesn't include people possessing them
illegally. It's shocking."

And dangerous. In the past five years, nine people have been mauled to death
by big cats in the United States. Just last year, three people were killed,
14 were injured and hundreds of the animals either escaped or were
confiscated from their owners, according to the Humane Society of the United
States.

"These are highly endangered species," says Kim Haddad, a veterinarian and
manager of the Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition. "Yet in this
country we're breeding them in the back yard and selling them like cats and
dogs. It's dangerous for people and inhumane for the animals."
Hogwash, says Randy Davies, 43, of Phoenix, who's been selling exotic
animals for 20 years and now operates the www.wildanimalworld.com Web site.
"Over the years, we've saved every animal you see in a zoo -- elephants,
giraffes, tigers. The only way they're going to survive is if we keep them
breeding and have places to put them."

The exotic animal trade is a $15 billion worldwide business and it's
flourishing. Primates, venomous snakes, elephants, giraffes, lions, bears
and tigers -- all are for sale, wildlife experts say. There are 1,000 sites
on the Internet that offer exotic animals.

These days, animal experts say you can pick up a cuddly tiger cub for $300,
half the price of a Shih Tzu dog. A cougar costs even less.
Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States,
says people buy them for all sorts of reasons. "They eat them, they shoot
them, they keep them as pets," he says. "It's a whole underworld that is
operating in the U.S. that victimizes literally tens of millions of animals
a year."

Jim Lolli, 55, of the Lolli Brothers Livestock Market in Macon, Mo., has
been auctioning and selling exotic animals since 1978. "I haven't sold a
tiger at auction for 20 years," he says. "But there are a lot of people who
do it. There's a huge black market. I've had people say they sold a tiger to
someone to shoot. It's illegal. It's as bad as selling cocaine."

Or is it?

Maze of ownership rules

A dizzying array of federal, state and local laws regulate who can and
cannot possess exotic animals like tigers. The Endangered Species Act makes
it illegal to possess, sell or buy an endangered animal like a Bengal tiger.
Except many of the tigers in the United States are "generic," or mixed
breeds like Bobo, and can be legally bred and possessed. The Lacey Act
provides for prosecution of those who possess animals illegally obtained in
a foreign country or another state.

But with thousands of breeders in America, no one needs to cross a U.S. or
state border to own a tiger. State laws vary, with 13 states banning private
ownership altogether; seven, including Florida, having a partial ban; 14
requiring a license or permit and 16 having no permit requirements at all.
Thus, in most states, "You only need a license if you're dealing, breeding,
exhibiting or conducting medical research," says Howard, the captive
wildlife specialist. "Unless there's a municipal or state law prohibiting
that, you're home free."

The USDA issues licenses to people who buy exotic animals with the intent to
sell, or for exhibitors such as zoos and circuses. "You have to fill out an
application, pay a fee and pass a prelicense inspection," says USDA
spokesman Jim Rogers. "We come out, look at your facility to see if you're
in compliance.... With Bobo or that guy in New York with a tiger in his
apartment, we have no authority."

Florida does have authority. It passed a law in 1980 that outlaws the
possession of tigers and 21 other exotic animals as pets. Yet, wildlife
activists say the state and federal requirements are easily dodged.
"All you need is 40 bucks in your pocket to get a USDA license," says Lewis,
of Tampa's Big Cat Rescue. She says getting around the state law is equally
simple. "Florida is known nationwide for having the toughest laws," Lewis
says. "It went from $5 to $150 for a permit to have a tiger. All you have to
do is say you're an educator, a breeder, or you're open to the public like a
zoo. Anything except, 'I want the tiger as a pet.' "

You also must have 5 acres of land, a perimeter fence and 1,000 hours of
experience handling the species you want to be licensed for, says Willie
Puz, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
which is charged with enforcing the law.
"You can have your mother or brother write the letter," Lewis says. "It's a
giant loophole."

Three years ago, Carol Asvestas, operator of the Wild Animal Orphanage in
San Antonio, had 25 big cats in her compound. Now she has 200, including the
cats from the New Jersey woman who kept them in her back yard. "I have
animals that have bitten children, bitten models in photo shoots, that have
gotten loose," she says. "Most of the states and counties are faced with
such a huge crisis with displaced exotics, that they have nowhere to put the
animals. So they're not enforcing the laws."
What's needed, animal experts say, is a federal law that prohibits the
possession of exotic animals like tigers and the money and manpower to
enforce it.

"We've been screaming at the top of our lungs that we need a federal law,"
says Asvestas. "You can't allow people to have these animals, whether
they're operating a sanctuary or not. This problem is absolutely going to be
devastating in the next five years unless a government entity has got the
guts to stand up, put their foot down and say this is not going to continue
to happen."

[Cocoa]

So how about me taking you home with me and keeping you as a pet. We will see how you like it?Bad AngelKiss. God knows what she will do to 'pets'. Hmmmm

[Greatis]

hmmm well there is one good thing about this and it's that they increasing the endangered species. hmmm I don't care what these articles say I am going to get myself some 70 - 100 acres of land and raise my tiger on it. I will turn a blind eye to these articles. :eusa_snoo

[AngelsKiss]

Bad AngelKiss. God knows what she will do to 'pets'. Hmmmm

LOL JCB... I don't keep pets and if I do I would treat them well, it's just those 2 am not so sure about:D

I think it would be interesting to have Drew for a day as a pet, don't you think? ;) :p

[Cocoa]

LOL..ok go ahead and raise your tiger. And I will raise my horses on my land.:D

[Drew]

:icon_arro i'm with greatis on that.

:icon_arro angel so what do you call zoos and places like dolphins cove and sea world??

[Cocoa]

I don't know Angel, I don't think I would want to keep drew as a pet, maybe someone else ;)...and how do you keep these 'pets' under control?

[Drew]

:icon_arro i wonder why u say that now??:icon_mrgr

[AngelsKiss]

:icon_arro i'm with greatis on that.

:icon_arro angel so what do you call zoos and places like dolphins cove and sea world??

Drew...I don't like the idea of animals in zoos either, however it does serve some educational purposes, so that I can live with.

Wild animals are what they are for a reason, to live in the wild, not to be kept as pet for human entertainment or comfort, JMO.

[AngelsKiss]

I don't know Angel, I don't think I would want to keep drew as a pet, maybe someone else ;)...and how do you keep these 'pets' under control?

Trust me JCB...I would be able to keep him under control:)

[Drew]

i understand you angel, however animals in the wild are being hunted and killed. i love animals and as you realise in this thread my favourite animal is an endangered species.

but. zoos serve more than educational purposes. zoos protect them, care for them, help them when they are sick and keep them alive. i can't argue with that.

[Cocoa]

Lawd have mercy...Angelkiss running a pet store. ;)

[Drew]

Trust me JCB...I would be able to keep him under control:)
and i wonder how you're going to achieve that. :eusa_thin

[AngelsKiss]

i understand you angel, however animals in the wild are being hunted and killed. i love animals and as you realise in this thread my favourite animal is an endangered species.

but. zoos serve more than educational purposes. zoos protect them, care for them, help them when they are sick and keep them alive. i can't argue with that.

Yep I am aware of the fact that animals are being hunted every day. However, instead of everyone saying lets take them from their natural environment as pets, we can find ways to protect them, which is being done. Just so you know animals also become endangered species when you keep them as pets. If we all took a wild animal and kept as pet what will happen to the procreation? Are you willing to keep a pair and let them breed?

[AngelsKiss]

Lawd have mercy...Angelkiss running a pet store. ;)

LMBO @ JCB...like I said I don't keep pets so I wouldn't want Drew as a pet either:)

@Drew...there are many ways to skin a cat, so keeping you under control shouldn't be too hard:)

[Drew]

so what do you propose could be a solution angel??
yea i know that, and its even worse when you have more than one in the same environment. but leave them in the wild for a hunter to kill them, i dunno bout that either.

[AngelsKiss]

so what do you propose could be a solution angel??
yea i know that, and its even worse when you have more than one in the same environment. but leave them in the wild for a hunter to kill them, i dunno bout that either.

Drew it's where they belong and like I said there are laws in place and the various government try to protect them. We can't safeguard all wild animals and neither can we nor should we keep them as pets simply because we think it's safer.

Like I said before, human beings are at great risk too, but we can't lock them away and say it's for their protection. Well we could try, but imagine the results.

If you get married and have kids, what are you going to do? Lock them up to protect them from society? Trust me the wild animals have a better chance at survival than us human beings.

[Drew]

come on angel. laws not preventing a thing and you know it.

[AngelsKiss]

come on angel. laws not preventing a thing and you know it.

Really now? You come to Canada and see if they are not preventing anything.

Do you know here in Canada in some cities (I can't say for all but it may very will be) if you plant a tree you cannot cut it down with out permit?

Like I said the govt can't protect every wild animal out there but that's no excuse for us to say we are going to take them from their natural environment. Also there are lots of Animal rights activist who are just waiting in the wings to make sure you don't and some of them are even more vicious than the wild animals out there.

[Drew]

of course i know that about canada. but canada isn't the world.

[AngelsKiss]

of course i know that about canada. but canada isn't the world.

I never said it was, it was just an example for your sweeping statement about laws not being effective.

[Drew]

i still don't think they are effective. these laws have been in place for quite sometime and multiple species are still being endangered.

[AngelsKiss]

i still don't think they are effective. these laws have been in place for quite sometime and multiple species are still being endangered.

Like I said before we can't save them all, just like how we can't keep all human beings alive and away from other human predators. That's life, wild animals have to keep themselves safe from other wild animals. You know the saying, it's a jungle out there.

[BlackCryptoKnight]

I say keep the animals in their natural habitats. I wouldn't like anyone scooping me out of my home to be a pet.