Ban on pet primates

[mooingtricycle]

Strict policies on undomesticated animals is my vote.

That includes snakes then?

[West Coast Jungle]

I think experts in primates, or reptiles for that matter, should outline husbandry, safety measures, and ecological considerations for specific animals and base any law on that and not on the latest propoganda or media circus our networks bombard us with everyday.

"Primates" is a very general term and can vary from animals that can fit in your shirt pocket to ones that can rip your arms out at the sockets.

Pythons or Boids are also very misunderstood and most people dont know the difference between a ringed python, a green tree python, ball or burmese. All they know is that big monster on the news. This is the mentality of the bills that we have seen lately.

That report about pythons spreading over North America is like a bad horror movie from the 50's, written poorly and not based on any scientific fact.

[Epona142]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Epona142 View Post
Strict policies on undomesticated animals is my vote.

That includes snakes then?

I apologize, you make a good point. Let me rephrase.

Strict policies on undomesticated mammals is my vote.

[mainbutter]

I'm not trying to argue with you, but elicit further explanation..

How about sugar gliders? Non-domesticated ungulates that are farmed in rural areas(everything from non-domesticated deer to musk ox)? ASFs?

Only the ungulates can I see an argument for them being domesticated to a certain degree.

I don't really consider any mammals except farm mammals, dogs, cats, and a handful of rodents(also farmed to a certain degree, such as rabbits and guinea pigs), to be domesticated. There are some non-domesticated mammals that I don't want to see any regulation over, except possibly in city settings(musk ox for example don't belong in a city, but I would have no problem with a complete lack of state laws about who is allowed to raise them in rural settings).

[spottysnake]

I don't understand why experience should decide whether someone can get an undomesticated social intelligent exotic animal (snakes not included, of course, sorry!). If an animal's natural living requirements are just too much to recreate in captivity [let alone expecting them to be a companion to people, too!] then experience shouldn't be the deciding factor. They are not suited to captivity and it's a matter of being intelligent, mature, civilized people and not giving into selfish urges to keep them as pets! We do NOT even understand the minds and bodies of these animals enough to assume we know what's best for them in captivity, there's nothing to be gained for them (educational programs are completely different subject, IMO) so it's just selfish to get them!

[BPHERP]

While I agree that middle to large sized primates are too much to handle when they decide to reak havoc, there is an inherent problem with banning anything this way...

...this is akin to a ball python taking out a child's eye, and then considering a ban on all ball pythons.

The idea here is that there is always the extreme example or exception to the rule, so, by that flawed logic, when something extreme occurs then a ban must be put in place.

This is clearly the wrong way to look at banning anything.

This is the same logic being used to consider banning large anacondas and pythons because of the local issue in Florida.

Anyone else care to chime in?

BrandonsBalls

[BPHERP]

I ran across this website (and it made sense to me), in that if someone decides to put themselves in front of wild animals, they must take responsibility for whatever happens, good or bad.

http://dont:cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::...ldanimals.com/

[Bruce Whitehead]

I think primates should require permits.

I only know one person that legally has one, and she got it to save it from being euthanized by a farmer (that had bought her to sell to a lab).

She tried to send her to the Macaque reserve in Texas, but due to being de-fanged she was not eligible. Which is one of my other concerns with people keeping pet primates. Defanging which ensures they can never be around other primates.

She has a zoo permit in order to keep this animal (similar to wolf keepers/breeders).

Had I not stayed in Soci, I would have finished my degree in Primatology, so for me this is an issue that I feel very strongly about, and therefore tend to avoid the Primate as Pets discussion.

I just do not feel that 99.9% of the population can meet their needs, and therefore the regulation should be very strict and governed by primatologists. Problem there is that I do not know any primatologists that would ever agree to sign on for something like this.

Bruce

[spottysnake]

I'm personally not basing my thoughts off of the recent event with the chimp, nor am I really even going into the dangers for people. I'm talking about "dangers" for the animal.

I'm simply considering the ethics involved when we limiti mental and physical health of the exotic animals. No doubt, that putting them in captivity does put their mental and physical health at risk for our benefit, no matter how great their accommodations and care may be.

snakes are a little different, because their requirements are very well understood and easy to replicate in our houses. It's a matter of individual liberty, for someone to put their health at risk with a snake, while with complex social animals, it's affecting both people AND animals.

[kellysballs]

Here is what I am thinking...if you enjoy keeping any exotic pet, you will not support the ban on primates. Once the ban on interstate sales of primates is in place what will be next? My bet is reptiles, big, small dangerous or not. The problem is primates are dangerous we all agree with that, however they are cute and fuzzy. If legislation bans the purchases of these cute fuzzy “little people” how easy do you think it will be for lawmakers to turn to the scary "alien" reptiles that "are taking over the country".

Exotic animal owners must ban together to keep our hobbies/businesses/passions legal. I agree that large dangerous exotic animals should need a permit to keep, however, bans are never the answer. I personally would never own a primate of any kind and I think most people cannot care for them properly, however if they acquire the proper permits and take the appropriate steps to ensure the animal has the best quality life possible then they should be allowed to own them.

Just the same as hots and large snakes here in Florida. Personally, I have seen the conditions some large snakes are kept in and I think the permit system they have in place here is great.