Should Wild Pets Be Banned?

[Madeline]

That surgery was done here at the Cleveland Clinic, syrenn. We Clevelanders are very proud of this lady and her doctors and nurses.

 

[Sallow]

The rule of thumb for me is to never keep an animal around you can't completely and utterly physically dominate. Even domesticated animals try to assert dominance.

But for me..animals that have sought human companionship, like dogs and cats..make the best pets.

 

[Madeline]

So would you favor a law outlawing wild pets, Sallow? I keep hoping a Libertarian will post to this thread.

 

[Ringel05]

Should Wild Pets Be Banned?

Oh hell no! Where would some of you ladies go??!!
(In the same vein you ladies should be asking about some of the guys!!!!)

 

[Zoom-boing]

I didn't read the OP or any other posts, just the title (I am assuming you mean wild animals as pets).

My answer is a loud and resounding HELL YES!

 

[Sallow]

So would you favor a law outlawing wild pets, Sallow? I keep hoping a Libertarian will post to this thread.

Well yeah..of course.

Libertarian doesn't mean crazy. Or maybe it does..

 

[Zoom-boing]

I wouldn't have any problem if they banned wild animals as pets.

 

[Madeline]

All y'all are so reasonable about this......where's Quantum Windbag? I bet he'd object.

 

[syrenn]

All y'all are so reasonable about this......where's Quantum Windbag? I bet he'd object.

He may not be that bat shit crazy just your average run of the mill nut case!

 

[Madeline]

All y'all are so reasonable about this......where's Quantum Windbag? I bet he'd object.

He may not be that bat shit crazy just your average run of the mill nut case!

He's my good buddy, syrenn...but he's radical, that's for sure. Plus he's wicked fun to argue with.

 

[syrenn]

All y'all are so reasonable about this......where's Quantum Windbag? I bet he'd object.

He may not be that bat shit crazy just your average run of the mill nut case!

He's my good buddy, syrenn...but he's radical, that's for sure. Plus he's wicked fun to argue with.

Well round him up and lets see just how crazy he is

 

[fyrenza]

I've "owned" wild animals ~

a cottontail rabbit that our hound brought to me to take care of;

rhesus monkeys;

birds;

etc.

They need to be wild.

As much as we could care about and love them,

they weren't meant to be owned, any more than other HUMANS were meant to be owned by us.

It hurts THEM, and forces them to hurt us,

through No Fault of THEIR OWN.

Since they can't communicate with us, it has to be THEIR choice to associate with us,

and it HAS to be on their terms.

 

[MikeK]

What do you say? Is this a symptom of a new mental illnesses? Should wild animal ownership by private persons be illegal?

I don't think it's a mental illness so much as increasing alienation within the human species as the result of encroaching technology and the extreme complications of an increasingly bureaucratic social order. Humans are turning to these wild creatures for the kind of trust and honest love which they cannot experience with other humans.

This craving cannot be satisfied by ownership of traditional pets, e.g., cats and dogs, because these genetically subjugated creatures are totally dependent and the affection they display is largely submissive and obsequious. But a loving relationship with an animal who is easily capable of killing is purely exotic, exciting and enormously gratifying.

I believe the key to a viable relationship with a wild animal is suitable habitat and bonding from the time of the animal's birth, or very close to that. The animal cannot feel trapped or tormented, such as are those "performing" animals that turn on their trainers. (What do they expect?) If you were to adopt an African lion, a Siberian tiger or a grizzly bear cub, treat it with respect and affection, feed it well and provide it with a comfortable habitat, I don't believe it would ever harm you. (If I were wealthy I would keep a pet tiger.)

There is a problem with the human ego in that it tends to impose itself on others, even those it loves. We get away with it with other humans because they understand our aberrations. Wild animals don't. Piss them off and they will do what comes naturally.

 

[Madeline]

I'm not convinced a wild creature will bond with a human, MikeK, but even if it does, I don't see how that alters the risk, especially after the animal is grown. The rest of what you wrote, yes, that's true.

Interesting article about dogs and our human mistake in interpreting their behavior as if they had human emotions....

Assigning human emotions to a canine is wagging the wrong tail: Ask Dog Lady | cleveland.com

 

[Quantum Windbag]

He may not be that bat shit crazy just your average run of the mill nut case!

He's my good buddy, syrenn...but he's radical, that's for sure. Plus he's wicked fun to argue with.

Well round him up and lets see just how crazy he is

You forgot to mention that I am always right.

 

[syrenn]

He's my good buddy, syrenn...but he's radical, that's for sure. Plus he's wicked fun to argue with.

Well round him up and lets see just how crazy he is

You forgot to mention that I am always right.

That all depends, if you are agreeing with me then your assertion is correct.

And your opinion on this subject is ?

 

[MikeK]

i have been bitten by a monkey ...a small one...but it inflicted a lot of harm in a little time...a friend of mine was attacked by a chimp.....bad bite to the hand...another friend worked with chimps in florida and has the scars to prove it...

I was bitten, too, by a spider monkey. But it was my own fault. Keeping those creatures in cages is simply cruel but I was too young and stupid to realize that at the time. I stuck my finger in the cage and the little bugger let me know how he felt about humans.

i love my cats...but they are small and cannot do much damage...if they were large they would.

Do you think they would do damage to you, or just to the furniture?

bears are strong predators...simple as that...

So are humans. The strongest.

 

[Madeline]

He's my good buddy, syrenn...but he's radical, that's for sure. Plus he's wicked fun to argue with.

Well round him up and lets see just how crazy he is

You forgot to mention that I am always right.

Yes you are, but dear, we agree (in some form or fashion) 99% of the time, so it is also true that I am (nearly) always right. You have caught me in error more'n once, that's true. I do believe I have nailed you too, if less often.

All in all, you're one of the funnest people to debate with.

 

[Madeline]

i have been bitten by a monkey ...a small one...but it inflicted a lot of harm in a little time...a friend of mine was attacked by a chimp.....bad bite to the hand...another friend worked with chimps in florida and has the scars to prove it...

I was bitten, too, by a spider monkey. But it was my own fault. Keeping those creatures in cages is simply cruel but I was too young and stupid to realize that at the time. I stuck my finger in the cage and the little bugger let me know how he felt about humans.

i love my cats...but they are small and cannot do much damage...if they were large they would.

Do you think they would do damage to you, or just to the furniture?

bears are strong predators...simple as that...

So are humans. The strongest.

One of the saddest sides to the Brent Kandra story is how hard the neighbors etc. tried to get rid of that bear (not kill it; just move into the hands of a zoo or whatnot where humans would be safe). They just could not get it accomplished, legally.

If you ask me, that owner should have been brought up on some sort of homicide charge. The death of Brent Kandra was predictable, even inevitable...just no one knew who or when.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

We have one of the most active Humane Societies in the nation here in Ohio. A proposed bill the OHS drafted has been tendered to the governor following the mauling death of a local man, Brent Kandra, by a pet bear. Brent Kandra was on Mazzola's property doing work when he was killed. Mazzola had previously been stripped of his Federal license to exhibit wild animals and had a history of legal problems concerning his animals or attempts to acquire more. Truely, a horrifying case.

Elyria man dies after being mauled by showman's pet bear | cleveland.com

There are so many instances of such deaths (normally though, it is the animal's owner who is killed, not a guest) that the Animal Planet Channel has built a reality tv show on the topic called "Fatal Attractions".

Note: this video is very disturbing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NECsA-AvnmA

The show is so graphic a paper no less jaded than the NY Post called it "extreme". The Animal Planet Channel defended the show, claiming the number of people who own venomous snakes, constrictors, big cats and chimps or apes, etc. has exploded in the past 20 years and the trend shows no sign of slowing. APC says the purpose of the show is to explore the motives people have for owning such animals as pets.

What do you say? Is this a symptom of a new mental illnesses? Should wild animal ownership by private persons be illegal?

Reality TV's new extreme programming - 'Fatal Attractions,' 'Prison Wives' - signals end of an era

What is the problem?

If someone wants to own a T-Rex let them, just as long as they are able to keep it away from their neighbors using a 50 foot high, 10,000 volt fence.

The truth is that humans have been keeping wild animals for millennium. Royalty used to have menageries that included the big cats, and bear baiting was a common sport in the middle ages. Do you really think dogs and cats decided to move in with us when they say how good we were at farming?