Keep Wild Animals in The Wild: Another Reminder
Posted by Digital Resistance on February 21, 2010
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- From State of FL Archives (No known copyright)
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- Public domain photo courtesy of PDPhoto.org
Skimming through news.google.com, as I often do to get a quick overview of what’s going on in the world, this New York Times review of a program scheduled to air this Sunday (tomorrow, Feb. 21) on PBS called Invasion of the Giant Pythons caught my attention:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/arts/television/20pythons.html
Below are excerpts, with my comments interspersed and following.
The news that Burmese pythons are loose and breeding in the Everglades and other parts of Florida has been known for a few years, but this program makes clearer the extent of the problem and some of the consequences.
But it turns out that not all of the blame for the infestation lies with pet owners who have released their pythons into the wild. Some got there courtesy of hurricanes that wrecked exotic-pet warehouses. We are left to make our own judgment of people who import and keep pythons and other exotic animals. That judgment is likely to be: “Idiots.”
Not just — or even necessarily– ‘idiots’ but socially and environmentally irresponsible. They should be made to bear some portion of the numerous costs their reckless behavior imposes upon society.
The federal government has proposed banning the importation of pythons and some other snakes.
The only possibly legitimate argument that I can think of against such a ban would be the concern that it could backfire by creating an underground for such trade.
But isn’t there already an active, lucrative underground for the importation and trade of exotic animals (already illegal, in many cases)?
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There have also been a number of reports of salmonella being spread from pet reptiles
Wild animals belong in the wild.
If people want pets, there are thousands (if not millions) of dogs and cats and more than a few rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, mice and rats just waiting to be adopted into good homes. There also birds and even barnyard animals available and in need of adoption.
Resources such as http://petfinder.com and http://pets911.com can help one to find just the pet they are looking for.
