This morning, I replyed to an email in our General Inbox from a college student working on a project about exotic pet ownership. It pushed my passion button, so Id like to share part of my response. It still needs saying. Our nonprofit continues to exist because of irresponsible private ownership of wildcats. Many were abused or neglected. Quite a few werent, but still ended up homeless. Hypothetically assuming wildcats could be kept responsibly (we dont believe they can be), the exotic pet trade is rife with exploitation. Even the most well-intended owners enable this exploitation by acquiring a cub. In the end, what argument can be made to own a wildcat that isnt selfish? Consider: 1. Cubs are pulled from mom at only a few weeks old to be bottle-fed,awed, and cooed over instead of staying with mom for 2-3 years. As just one result, their ability to interact safely with other wildcats is diminished to varying degrees. They and their littermates then have a poor chance of a good life for the next 15-19 years. Seems like a great experience, but do you think its worth that cost? 2. A tigers range in the wild is anywhere from 10 to 380 square miles. Some of the best homes for tigers in captivity might offer 3 acres. Thats 0.004 square miles, or 0.04% of their minimum natural range. 3. Big cats are arguably the largest, most impressive predators on land. Its their evolutionary nature. Captivity denies them that. 4. Captive tigers have never contributed to conservation in any meaningful way. Maybe breeding big cats in captivity seemed just in the 70s and 80s, but we know better now. It’s pretty heinous to take advantage of the public’s ignorance by claiming conservation. Groups exploit wildcats by charging to play with a cub and/or by taking big cats on the road in what can’t be larger than a shipping container. Their message is that they are helping conservation, if not directly, than by education. What, that tigers are endangered? I think that’s pretty common knowledge, and there’s certainly less exploitive ways of presenting it. After all these years, I want to people to step back from the “aww, that’s so cute” factor. It overrides the big picture. It leads people to feel justified in what they’re doing because they love the animal. We have to examine our motivations. Wildcats visibly care about, respond to, and even love people, but that doesn’t make it right or safe. Wildcats are not naturally social (except lions, but theyre still happier with each other). But we, as humans, have deprived them of their opportunity to fulfill their nature. We’ve taken away part of the wildness that originally attracted us to them. I love our cats, but I mourn inwardly when I see wildcats that struggle to walk due to confinement, inbreeding, or declawing. I love our white tiger Jellybean, but I cringe when the public oohs and ahhs over him because I know that breeding white tigers is a primary reason so many captive tigers are inbred. I look at our super clever huntresses- Camilla, Kaela, Star, and Sheba, and I’m inexorably saddened that they will never fully realize the amazing predatory instincts they clearly have. So thats my soapbox. If youve gotten this far, consider taking our Predators not Pets pledge, so we can let you know in the coming year what you can do to make a difference for wildcats. carolinatigerrescue.org/events/2014/2014-09_predators_not_pets.php ~ Amanda B.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 15:53:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015