Pet Talk: What to know about owning exotic pets - Bryan-College Station Eagle

Posted: 08 Apr 2021 10:00 PM PDT

By Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Staff

The term "exotic pet" encompasses a broad range of animals, loosely meaning any pet that is not a dog, cat, or farm animal.

Alice Blue-McLendon, a clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and director of the Winnie Carter Wildlife Center, says that it is also important to differentiate between exotic pets, which can be kept ethically in domestic settings, and wildlife, which should not be kept domestically.

"There are a lot of animals for sale that should not be kept as pets. It is a big problem," said Blue-McLendon. "Someone is saying an animal makes a good pet doesn't make that information credible."

Common exotic pets that can be kept responsibly include pocket pets, such as rabbits, Guinea pigs and hamsters, birds, reptiles, fish, and amphibians. Owners choosing to purchase one of these animals should take into account the proper enclosure requirements, as providing adequate caging is where many owners fall short in properly caring for these animals, according to Blue-McLendon.

"People should spend time researching the needs of animals, looking at different websites, and talking to people who own some of those animals so they really understand what the needs are," she said. "Being prepared to invest a little bit into big enough caging is important in providing the animal with a decent home."

Blue says that owners should consider the source through which they obtain their pet when getting any animal, exotic or not. It is important for potential owners to consider whether an animal is bred and housed ethically by the breeder.

"Prospective owners can try to get references from whoever they're buying the animals from, and buying locally is always really good," Blue-McLendon said. "Asking questions of the owners, including asking to see where their animals are bred, is a good way to help ensure animals were produced ethically—are they in little, tiny cages? Are they allowed to exercise? Do they have outdoor areas?"

Exotic animals also require specialized care that may differ from the needs of more common pets. Owners should contact local veterinarians before getting a new exotic pet to ensure that the necessary care is available in their area.

"Prospective owners should consider that there could be veterinary expenses in the purchase and the acquisition of any animal," she said. "More and more veterinarians are willing to see some non-domestic animals, such as pocket pets."

It also is important for owners to be realistic about their exotic animal choice and to put the needs of the animal over their desire to have an attractive and unusual pet.

Some animals, such as big cats, can't be kept domestically in an ethical manner.

"It can be easy to succumb to the allure of having a beautiful spotted cat as a 'pet,' but they're just not suited for households," Blue-McLendon said. "You can't meet the animal's needs and a lot of those animals end up in some kind of a sanctuary or they'll have an unhappy life; they may also be more susceptible to diseases they otherwise wouldn't contract."

Just like the decision to purchase any new pet, getting an exotic animal is a major decision and responsibility; therefore, it should be treated as such.

"It's important to not be spontaneous about the acquisition of any animal. It's so much more than satisfying human curiosity and human satisfaction," Blue-McLendon said. "It should be about providing the animal with what it needs for its happiness and welfare.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University.

WHO's New Live-Market Suggestions Are Half-Baked - PETA

Posted: 14 Apr 2021 08:26 AM PDT

BREAKING: In response to the World Health Organization's (WHO) partial call to action—suspending the sale of live mammals at food markets—PETA is nominating PETA Asia Director Jason Baker for the agency's executive board.

With expert Baker on board, perhaps we'd get sensible and timely decisions about safety.

PETA, PETA Asia, and our other affiliates have done the research, and we know that preventing future zoonotic diseases cannot be achieved by feebly halting the sale of only live mammals at food markets. Did avian flu teach the world nothing? It's not just mammals, and it's not just food markets—sales of birds, reptiles, and fish; fur and exotic-skins farms; and roadside zoos all risk the possibility—no, make that the probability—of spawning the next pandemic.

So long as live-animal markets are open and operating, animals suffer and no one is safe.

On March 25, 2020, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk sent an urgent letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus:

We're writing to you urgently because, while the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unpredictable, one thing is certain: Live-animal meat markets will continue to put the planet's human population at enormous risk. On behalf of PETA and more than our 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide, we respectfully ask that you call for the immediate and permanent closure of these markets, in which dangerous viruses and other pathogens flourish.

Now, more than a year later and following nearly 3 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide, WHO is finally doing something about live-animal markets, like the one in which the novel coronavirus is believed to have originated. But here's where the agency stopped too short: It's only urging countries to suspend sales of "live caught wild animals of mammalian species for food or breeding purposes and close sections of food markets selling live caught wild animals of mammalian species as an emergency measure unless demonstrable effective regulations and adequate risk assessment are in place." But just as Newkirk said back in May, "for the sake of every other species sold and slaughtered in them—and for the survival of the human species itself"—all live-animal markets must be shut down.

Prior to WHO's lackluster call to action, PETA had also launched an action alert, which more than 162,000 people signed, urging the agency to shut down live-animal markets worldwide; set up a "'blood'-soaked 'live market'" outside WHO's headquarters in Washington, D.C., urging the agency in person to close all live-animal markets permanently; and, with help from Slaughter Free NYC, exposed the disgusting conditions at poorly regulated stateside live-animal markets, like those in New York City. Across the pond, PETA U.K. held its own protest outside WHO's Copenhagen office, echoing our call for a total live-animal market ban. And PETA Asia conducted investigations into live-animal markets in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam as well as follow-up investigations in Thailand and Indonesia months after the pandemic began, which verified that the bloody, filthy markets were still operating as usual, despite a mounting COVID-19 death toll. Throughout the investigations, PETA Asia observed that non-wild and non-mammalian animals were being trafficked, and they still posed a threat for the spread of disease—plus, these animals themselves are threatened by disease (consider, for example, the 1.3 million chickens Sweden announced it would "cull," or slaughter, after it reportedly became the epicenter of a bird flu outbreak in Europe just a few short months ago).

Urge WHO to Call For the Closure of All Live-Animal Markets

Don't wait for WHO or anyone else to protect you or the animals we should be living in harmony with. You can take action right now to help prevent the next global pandemic: Ditch meat, eggs, and dairy—go vegan. And help others you know do the same. Feed them vegan food and they'll never go back to those truly dirty dietary habits.

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