ORIGINAL: rwbeagles
It is however,....worse off than it's comparable wild brother, because it is confined in an unnatural setting.
Cannot say the same about the feral dog or cat...can you?
I have had more trouble with feral dogs and cats than I have ever had with any of my exotics. I am involved in the rescue and rehab of both. I would gladly take on an exotic, than take on a dog or cat and try to mold them into the standard everyday pet that America and the rest of the world is looking for and requiring today. To be fair, our current views of a domestic companion are becoming extremely far-fetched, and most ferals will take a long time, if ever, to rehabilitate into that mold.
it bothers me when people have to have a wild animal just because it is unique, because no one else has one. it is one thing for one to be raised in captivity because it is unable to thrive in the wild, it is another to breed the captives for no other purpose than to maintain them as housepets. do we really need to domesticate every creature on the planet, didn't we already learn our lesson with dogs and cats?
As someone who has owned, and who knows and has spoken to many many other owners of exotic cats and other animals, I'll have to say, most of us have no qcquired our animals from breeders. In my case, my Caracal was pawned off by it's original owner, who had bought it from a breeder that I had to track down, to a person who had no idea what they were doing, and did want it because it was unique. Had I not stepped in, one of three things would have happened:
-The cat would have died at an early age of malnutrition and joint disorders from being improperly confined.
-It would have attacked it's own handler or one of the 3 children that lived there with the owner, and possibly killed them.
-It would have attacked a dog or cat owned by the person or by a neighbour, and the animal would have been seized and euthanized, or the owner would punish the animal, and in turn, either be attacked, or break whatever spirit would have been left.
I rescued this animal because I knew one of these things would have happened. The person wasn't even sure what kind of cat they owned. Had it been something larger (Caracals are a medium sized cat and require a lesser license in most places) this owner would be in a world of crap if nobody would've taken it from him.
Its funny how you didn't post the pics of Carmello destroying the house and leaning on the window to ESCAPE! As far as I'm concerned a happy animal does not escape. My dogs will run for hours, but they are not happy if I'm not with them. I think you would be hardpressed to find a wild animal being destructive in the wild.
Are you saying that this animal knew that it was supposed to be wild and actively tried to escape? He has been handraised, his sheer size is what k.m.a. was commenting on, not his will to break from from the 'wretches of his home' as it is sounding to be described as.
An animal does not "escape" because it is unhappy. My dogs are always looking for new ways to get through the fencing. It is natural instinct to want to explore. All animals do it to an extent. Humans do it as well. It has nothing to do with the animal thinking there is a better life out there because it somehow knows there are wild animals out there of it's species. That can be said for dogs as well.
As for the destruction, I'm not sure where you live, but in most places, all wild animals cause destruction. They don't know what they are doing is destruction, but by human standards, they are. Parks enforce rules on food, because of animals coming into camps and trying to get to foods left on the ground or out where they can smell it. They will rummage through everything, and cause a lot of damage to a lot of things. Deer will cause horrendous damage to crops, crops that are there to help whole families survive, solely. Certain types of birds cause damage to homes. Most animals cause some sort of destruction in the wild.
And if you are in a home where you own dog or cat has never caused some sort of destruction on a small scale, then I believe you are the proud owner of some fine stuffed animals.
So, rather than grabbing up "exotics", maybe a bit more attention to what is occuring in these creatures environments (that is not to exclude your own!) The ecosystems all inhabit are critically fragile. The ability to smite down forest and ruin air is occurring in record time. All due to our improvements of lifestyle and ability to get what we want and now.
I think if a person really cares about these wild creatures, more thought would go into sparing their families in the wild. Sparing ecosystems may seem like money loss to some, but the price has yet to be tallied. The total cost will be a bill no one will be able to pay back.
Dedicated owners of these exotics participate actively in conservation. I am one of them. I work with sanctuaries in various places, I do as much rehab as I possibly can these days, and I rescue the animals I can that are in need. Most of us (exotic owners) are highly involved in helping wildlife and the habitats.
To say that we don't care about it would be a huge false statement. I have a very very close friend who is owned by a Couar who is part of several organizations. She has helped to rebuild habitats for these cats and for hundreds of other species.
We
do support conservation. Having these animals in our home has nothing to do with how we feel about them in the wild. We help both sides, captive and wild. And we enjoy every minute of it. I speak for myself and every single responsible and dedicated exotic pet owner there is when I say that.
I think that someone getting into exotics needs to be aware of a few things:
-These animals will not behave like traditional pets (cats/dogs).
-By taking these animals into your home, you are not saving them from
extinction, but perhaps worsening their situation if they aren't captive bred.
-In most cases exotics in need of 'rescue' are better off left to being handled by
official sanctuaries and rescue organisations with the resources to care for their
unique demands.
Some of these animals do behave like your average dog or cat, with a few twists. I played fetch with my big cat, as do most owners of these cats. I keep mentioning cats, because it seems they are where most of the debate lie.
I can honestly say, that I and hundreds of others
have in fact done our part in helping to stop extinction become a reality, and we will never stop. There is no doubt in my mind about it. And this includes the work done by everyone who dedicated themselves to it. Or even helps out a little with what they can.
Sanctuaries are amazing places. But they can only accomodate so much. There are few very good sanctuaries in this world. Many are shabby, and are running on donations and low funding. I would rather keep a rescued exotic in my own home where I know it will be taken care of and kept as happy as possible, than place it into a sanctuary that is severely low on space, time, and money. And you will see, that is all too common with sanctuaries. They just simply do not have enough room for them all. If they did, perhaps this discussion would not be going on the way it is. But they do not. And that is where
many many many exotic owners come into play. We don't all buy from pet stores and breeders/brokers. Despite what you may think.
I am trying my best to shed some truth onto some of the things I've read here. It seems like with the media stories of exotic pets being taken from their abusive owners, the good people have been pushed back into the shadows and not noticed for their extremely great efforts. Myself, and other responsible owners throw ourselves into helping these animals to live the best lives they can, both in captivity and in the wild. And we are doing a fantastic job compared to what things used to be like in the exotic pet circuit. We have helped to enforce the laws that stand today. Not just anyone can own an exotic pet, almost every state has laws on a very long list of what are considered to be exotic animals.
I will never stop defending my own rights or the rights of those who are owned by these amazing animals and who properly care for them. I will never look at an animal in the wild and compare them to what I myself have in my home, in my yard, or to what I have seen those who I know to be responsible and dedicated have. To me, they all need our help, and I refuse to discriminate help and education based on where the animal is.
If you take the time to get to know someone like myself who has owned some of the less-common and most debated exotics, you will understand better how we feel on the subject, and that we do not believe that just anyone should be able to own them, we do not believe that every single animal in the world should be in at least one person's home, we do believe that there are honest, responsible, full-of-heart people who genuinely care and are knowledgable to the point that they will never stop fighting to help these animals.
Unfortunately, some people's views have spread from onwers, to even those who rescue. They do not support the sanctuaries, they do not support those who actively rescue, they only support the animals being left in the wild to fend for themselves. Human involvement has almost completely erased hope for any animal ever being able to be left to their own again. There will always have to be people there to help them along now due to building, poachers, etc etc.
If my message and hopes of enlightenment have no penetrated here, then I will stop posting. I am only hoping to shed light on this subject. To help people better understand myself, and those of us who are dedicated to our animals, and every animal in the wild. It is unfair to compare us to those who have no knowledge whatsoever, to call us selfish or posessive, to say that we only want to be unique. We do not throw ourselves out into the community to show off our animals. Most of us avoid telling others about the animals we own, because it draws too much negative attention, and we would rather our animals live in peace, than have the local news with camera crews and protestors at our doors.
We are just like your averge pet owner at heart, we just own something a little unorthodox, and that bothers more people and we feel it should sometimes. But we live with it. And try our best to educate until we turn blue, and beyond.
Again, if I am wasting my own fingers here typing my side of this, then I will stop posting and move to other topics...but I feel the need to share, from an owner's point of view, the truth about owning these animals, and that we are not out to make names for ourselves.
To those who have followed my posts and read them, I greatly appreciate it. It is hard enough to get someone to listen, let alone to get them to understand. If you listen, then I've done as much as I can, if you do not want to go any further with it.