ASPCA and Exoctic Pets

[ShortStack]

I always thought the ASPCA was a great organization. They have commercials of sad, starving puppies and they take donations to help them. Great deal, right? Not so much. After reading in another thread about how they may not be so great for every pet owner, especially when it comes to exotic pets, I decided to do a little more research.

Let's look at a few of their views for a moment:

"The exotic pet trade is the trade and keeping of wild animals as pets, essentially contributing to the suffering of millions of animals, threatening public health and safety, disrupting ecosystems and driving species to endangerment and extinction."
The part that really gets me here is that this contributes to the suffering of animals, according to them. Now, a person will abuse/neglect any animal. Since when does simply having an exotic pet mean it will live it's life in suffering?

"Yes, it is almost impossible to meet the needs of an exotic animal in captivity. For example, many monkeys, reptiles, birds and wild cats travel several miles in a single day, so life in a cage or wandering around the house won't cut it. Since the vast majority of people who keep exotic animals cannot meet their needs, the animals often become the victims of abuse and neglect—they are caged, chained, tranquilized or even beaten into submission."
Hmm, wonder where they get their facts on this one? Again, a person can abuse/neglect ANY animal.

Now, for the most part they have been talking about animals such as monkeys, lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, ect. And okay, I can see it being unreasonable for a person to keep a lion in their home. That's a legitimate argument. However, they do consider reptiles, sugar gliders, and other small animals in thier arguments as being bad pets to keep. For instance:

"Parrots, reptiles and other small animals such as hedgehogs and sugar gliders are often mistakenly thought of as easy “starter pets” for children. The truth is these small exotic animals require very special care and maintenance and veterinary costs can be extreme."
Well, my personal thoughts are that all animals require special care. Ever animal must be fed, housed properly, and cleaned up after. Yes, a caged animal may require more cleaning (change of bedding being an example) or their environment may need to be more closely monitored (such as temperatures and humidity levels), but I don't think that means that it makes them a bad pet for a child. With any animal just about, the child is going to need help and to be taught the proper way to care for it. You cannot give a 3 year old any animal, whether it is a goldfish or sugar glider, and expect the child to totally care for it on their own.

Just some thoughts.

**All of the quotes were found here: http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cr...c-pet-faq.aspx on their website**