We all know how special interest groups can hype things up, like the nonexistent “Exotic Pet Crisis.” If you listened to some animal rights groups, you would think that keeping exotic pets is cruel, dangerous and even bordering on treason! Before you buy that planner, consider that a high school student once made a compelling case for banning dihydrogen monoxide: colorless, odorless, and tasteless, it kills thousands of people each year.
Most deaths are caused by inhalation, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide don’t end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes serious tissue damage. Dihydrogen monoxide is also known as hydroxylic acid, it is the main component of acid rain, it can cause severe burns, it contributes to soil erosion, it can cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes, and it has been found in tumors removed from patients with terminal cancer.
This report was presented to 50 students, asking them what should be done with the chemical. 43 students were in favor of banning it, 6 were undecided, and only one correctly recognized that ‘dihydrogen monoxide’ is actually H2O, tap water. how gullible are they your?
Banning my cat makes just as much sense as banning yours, and the results are just as heartbreaking for pet and owner. Are you ready for the truth about the “exotic pet crisis”?
- Exotic pets are not dangerous! One study showed that the risk of injury for owners of exotic cats was less than the risk of injury due to a bite from a domestic dog. And every person who drives a motor vehicle exposes himself and his family to three times the risk of someone who owns even a large exotic cat like a tiger.
- Most exotic pet owners are kind and intelligent people who love their animals and take excellent care of them. We love our pets like you love yours.
- Exotic animal bans result in beloved pets being confiscated, seized, and usually killed. A lucky few live their lives in cages under the care of strangers in zoos and sanctuaries. This is the dirty secret that animal rights groups don’t want you to know. Banning does not help animals: it kills them!
- Exotic cat ownership is already regulated by the US Department of Agriculture, the US Department of the Interior, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, CITES, the Animal Welfare, the Endangered Species Act, the Lacey Act, more city, county, and state regulations than you can shake a stick, as well as existing animal welfare and public safety laws that govern both exotic animals as well as domestic ones.
- “You can buy a tiger on the Internet for $100.00,” activists reluctant to investigate proclaim with horror. Just try ordering a tiger online, or even a serval. You will not succeed. This urban legend has great repeatability at cocktail parties and fundraisers to save cute animals from evil humans, but it’s sorely lacking in the reality department. Breeders have websites, but it takes much more than a click of the mouse to buy an exotic cat.
