Re: i knew that was coming... =) (more)

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Posted by PHFaust on January 19, 2003 at 10:46:58:

In Reply to: i knew that was coming... =) (more) posted by aysel on January 18, 2003 at 23:51:37:

Actually for being sick, you made tons of sense.

I worry about legislation because of the families that dont lock their cages at night, because of the 20 year old who picked up a cobra and is trying to kiss it in front of friends to look cool, because of the family who has 20 rotties and they dont train them and the dogs maul a child, because even though those people have nothing to do with me and my husbandry, they are the example to the general public about what kind of people own a certain animal.

I have a guy that I work with that reads like 5 papers daily. He inevitably has a news article weekly about some incident about reptiles. Now he is also sharing with me pit bull or 'dangerous' breed mauling stories. And every week he asks me the same questions.
How does something like this occur? (more often than not I answer with improper caging and poor locking system)
Where in the hell do people get these pets? (pet stores is the biggest answer in my area, however I am sure many do buy off ks or other classified. herp shows are far between.)
Why do people get these "beasts"? This one is always hard to answer. I actually inherited my first iguana who was really in bad shape from a friend who died. After that I just became facinated. I always liked them as a child, but they were a big change from the cats I grew up with. I never buy anything and therefore eventually becoming close with the animal control and area rescues, I never had to. I just say what I want, and eventually (keeps crossing my fingers on the Cyc or Cteno) I get it. But other people have other reasons. We all know that.

But I am digressing. I havent come to an exact decision on what I want. One thing that always is in the back of my head with registering pets with the government is IF they enact a ban and DO NOT Grandfather previous pets in, they know what I have and they know where I live. I suppose it wouldnt really be all that hard for me to get a state issued keeper liscence because of my close workings with animal control and local shelters, but this is ALWAYS in the back of my mind. It even a thought that i share with gun control but that is a whole nother issue. ;)

So basically I dont know how much I trust my government. Hell we have had more local government officials investigated by the FBI for illegal workings in my area in the past year than in my whole life! I just dont know how much I trust people and how much I want people telling what i can or cant have as a pet because of a small population of the hobbyist.

Hehehe This is a fun discussion!
Cindy

:DISCLAIMER:
:I'm currently battling a nasty cold that has my eyes watering and my head floating 2 inches above my body, so don't mind anything I say that you can't understand, lol.

:It is really frustrating when legislators panic and lay down laws and/or bills that were created solely for their benefit (ie: protect their behinds). I know what you mean when good owners get slapped upside the head.

:There is also the battle of stereotypes VS reality. There's the example of when a large constrictor is headline of tabloid news for eating the whole family that lovingly and tenderly cared for it. What the readers don't know is that it is NOT the snakes fault that stuff like that happens. If the owners were responsible and locked the cage and made sure that it was escape-proof, as well as fed the snake properly, there would be no such incidents. I even get it from family members! Before I 'educated' my grandmother she thought that Tarzan would constrict ME or rip out my throat in the middle of the night!!

:It is all an issue of education, really. If there were laws that required permits for animals, I would be completely OK with it. Maybe people would even be required to pass a test on husbandry for the care of the animals they're trying to be allowed to own/care for.

:Then again, there's the issue of people trying to avoid the law, and that's a whole new discussion in itself. It's pretty inevitable that people will either be too lazy or just too irresponsible to abide by the law, and sneak stuff under the fence. And what do you do with the animals that are confiscated from the criminals?

:hehe, you can write a NOVEL and still have more to say about all of this =P

:With some regulations, people are too ignorant and/or just don't give a damn about the animals like reptiles that are expendable, right? Legislators often don't take the time to look into what other species fall victim to the generalized iguanids category. Being thorough or fair isn't their top priority, especially when a war or other worldly issues are at their top priority.

:This whole topic is nothing to sneeze at. It's long and drawn out and sooooo complicated.. *sighs* I'll get into it more when I'm a bit more healthy + clear-headed, hehehe

:
:-Lesya

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