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Posted by Desiree on September 06, 2001 at 11:13:54:
From the gator forum: http://www.kingsnake.com/forum/gator/messages/11079.html
HUMANE SOCIETY OF U.S. RELEASES GROUNDBREAKING REPORT: REPTILES AS PETS -
AN EXAMINATION OF THE TRADE IN LIVE REPTILES IN THE UNITED STATES
Report Cites Health Threats to Humans, Wildlife, Agricultural Animals;
Conservation Concerns - Calls on Government to Ban Import/Export and Sale of
Reptiles in the United States
WASHINGTON (September 6, 2001) - The Humane Society of the United States,
the nation's largest animal protection organization, today released a
landmark report that calls on the federal government to ban the import,
export, and retail sales of live reptiles in the United States.
The report, Reptiles as Pets: An Examination of the Trade in Live Reptiles
in the United States, documents and exposes the abuses of the $2 billion
dollar a year industry and cites health threats to humans, wildlife, and
agricultural animals, as well as conservation and humane concerns, as
reasons for banning the trade.
Among the report's findings:
Human Health Hazards All reptiles carry Salmonella bacteria. The bacteria,
shed in the feces, can contaminate the animal's skin, enclosure, and
virtually any surface with which it comes into contact. The National Centers
for Disease Control (CDC) issued a 1999 report stating that reptile-related
salmonellosis posed a significant threat to human health. More than 93,000
cases of reptile-related salmonellosis occur each year and the number
continues to rise as reptiles gain in popularity. Particularly at risk are
seniors, immunocompromised individuals, and children. The CDC report
includes many case histories of illnesses contracted from pet reptiles,
including the death of a five-month-old Wisconsin boy who contracted
salmonellosis from a pet iguana.
Health Hazards to Domestic Livestock and Wildlife In March 2000, the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an emergency ban on
the importation and interstate commerce of three species of African tortoise
known to carry species of ticks that harbor bacteria that cause heartwater
disease. If heartwater, a degenerative wasting disease of ruminants, were to
become established in the United States the USDA estimates that mortality
rates of livestock (cattle, sheep, goats) and wildlife (deer, bison,
antelope) could be expected to reach between 40 and 100 percent. The USDA is
currently attempting to mandate a quarantine period for all imported
reptiles. In addition, the release of unwanted pet reptiles into the wild
has introduced viruses and bacteria common in captive reptiles into wild
populations, posing a threat to natural stocks that hold little immunity to
these exotic pathogens.
Conservation Concerns The wild-caught reptile trade and the trade in
ranched or farmed reptiles, poses threats to wild populations. Among these
are:
Over-collection: Often the number of animals collected from the wild
exceeds the species' or stock's reproductive capabilities. Particularly
endangered are wild turtles, including America's spotted, wood, and box
turtles. Habitat destruction: Collection methods destroy dens and other
valuable habitat of reptiles. Snakes in particular are often caught through
destructive techniques. Exotic species: Unwanted reptiles released into the
wild compete with native wildlife for food, habitat, and mates. A case in
point is the red-eared slider turtle, which has been introduced into
waterways in the United States and around the world, causing untold harm to
native species.
Smuggling of rare reptiles: Endangered and threatened reptiles are valued
because of their scarcity, driving a thriving illegal trade, decimating wild
populations and threatening outright extinction in some species.
Humane Concerns Reptiles are among the most inhumanely treated animals in
the pet trade. Because they are cheap and easily replaceable, dealers,
captive breeders, and retailers factor huge mortality into their operating
costs. An estimated 90 percent of all wild-caught reptiles are dead within
the first year of captivity.
Despite all this, says Dr. Teresa Telecky, co-author of the report, reptiles
as pets continue to grow in popularity, helping fuel an international trade
that mounts into billions of dollars.
"More than 18 million reptiles were imported into the United States from
1989 to 1997," said Telecky, Director of the Wildlife Trade Program at The
Humane Society of the United States.
In 1997 alone (the most recent year for which reptile import and export data
is available), she notes, more than 1.7 million reptiles were imported into
the U.S. The most commonly imported reptiles are lizards (70%), followed by
turtles (15%), snakes (12.8%), and crocodilians (1.0).
The numbers of reptiles exported from the United States, nearly 58 million
between 1989-97, dwarfs the import figures. In 1997 some 9.3 million
reptiles, most wild-caught, were exported from American shores destined for
the foreign pet and hobbyist trade, and for use as food and as ingredients
in Asian traditional medicines. The most commonly exported reptiles are
turtles (96.6%), lizards (2.4%), snakes (0.5%), and crocodilians (0.2%).
Domestically, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturing
Association (APPMA), almost four million households in the United States in
2000 contained one or more pet reptiles or amphibians, a 44 percent increase
since 1998. About nine million reptiles and amphibians (collectively known
as "herps") were kept as pets in the United States in 2000, a more than
10-percent increase since 1998.
The most popular pets are turtles. Forty-six percent of herp-owning
households in the U.S. have one or more turtles followed by snakes (22%),
iguanas (18%), and lizards (17%).
Adding to the problem, says Telecky, are misleading claims by the pet
industry to the public about the appropriateness of reptiles as pets,
falsely marketing reptiles as easier to care for than dogs or cats.
"The reality is that reptiles do not make good pets. They are hard to care
for and often require specialized diets and environments," notes Telecky,
who cites the 90% first-year mortality figures as proof that the general
public often has little concept of just how difficult it is to raise and
care for reptiles.
Moreover, reptiles can be dangerous. The upsurge in reptile ownership since
the 1980s has meant an increase in the ownership of large and potentially
dangerous snakes, particularly pythons and boas. There have been many
near-fatal and several fatal incidents in recent years involving
constrictors. In August, an eight-year-old Pennsylvania girl, Amber
Mountain, was killed by the family's pet Burmese python.
Even the increasingly popular iguana can pose a threat. Sold as hatchlings
or newborns, green iguanas grow to impressive size, reaching five to six
feet in some cases, often becoming too large and aggressive to keep as pets.
Cast-off reptiles - snakes, turtles, lizards, iguanas, and crocodilians --
are often either released into the wild (where they either die or compete
with native wildlife) or, increasingly, are surrendered to zoos or shelters
where they are soon euthanized.
Telecky says the problems will continue to grow unless the reptile trade is
banned.
"The Humane Society of the United States urges federal and state regulatory
agencies to put an end to the reptile trade for the sake of public health,
the safety of the nation's livestock and wildlife, and because of growing
conservation concerns," says Telecky.
The HSUS is dedicated to the protection of all animals. For more information
on the reptile trade, contact the HSUS on the Web at www.hsus.org and
www.animalchannel.net.
###
Unofficially, they consider it an alert. Sort of a wake-up call, a shot
across the bow, to get people talking about the industry, its humane and
health problems, effect ( or is it affect?)on conservation etc. Guess It
will
This release went out on wires today.
Allen Salzberg
Editor/Publisher
HerpDigest: A Free Weekly Electronic
Newsletter on the Latest News on Reptile and
Amphibian Science and Conservation
www.herpdigest.org
