Quote Originally Posted by Gorgias View Post
So all I can do now is give my humble opinions on what people can do on an individual basis. It should be our goal as hobbyists to meet the animal rights movement half way. We need to show the good side of exotic pet ownership. I don’t want to just say that people should abandon the fight for those who own things that a little more “exotic” but a distinction needs to be made between someone with BPs and someone with a 20’ retic. I also would like to advocate some of my personal opinions that I believe would help in the long run. I don’t believe people should buy imports. One of the main arguments HSUS uses is that most exotics are WC and carry diseases and will die in transport or shortly after arrival. I also am strongly opposed to buying pets from chains, and many local shops (there are always exceptions with local shops, but most I’ve seen horrible). If you don’t believe this creates a problem, I have a personal story about one that put the nail in the coffin for me. One day my wife and I were at a pet smart when we overheard a man and his wife and his mother, or mother in law who apparently lived with them. They were talking to the employee in the bird section, they were discussing a Congo African Grey, and when the employee went to get them more info on the bird the man started talking about keeping the bird in one of those big multilevel ferret cages with all the tubes. I normally never say things to people in public about stuff like this but I had to say something. I approached him and told him I heard him talking about buying a parrot and related that I had one and grew up with them. I went on to stress how hard they could be to deal with and what kind of caging he would need and how long they live and how loud and aggressive they can become. It looked like it really hit home and he said thanks, and my wife and I left thinking we had done a good deed. We went back later that day and saw that the grey was gone. I always tell myself that someone else came in who knew what they were doing and bought it, but I know deep down the man bought it after I left (the store didn’t even have it sexed btw). Honestly, I hope that bird died soon after… if it didn’t I’m sure it’s in some rescue, or a dark corner of a room tearing out its feathers and ripping holes in its chest. How does this relate to my argument? The bird, if it lived, will at some point end up in some rescue program mutilated. This is what PETA feeds off, and how they make their point. This leads to my final point, if someone you know wants to buy an exotic: bird, lizard, snake, and they don’t know what they are doing… do everything you can to stop them! This is the primary reason there are so many rescues, and so many horrible depressing stories that give PETA and HSUS backup for their movement.

This is only my opinion, feel free to comment and criticize. Sorry if there are any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise… it’s late. Thanks for your time.
I take exception to the generalization that because a man did not know not to put a Congo African Grey in a ferret cage that said African Grey is better off dead. I'm sorry, but I got my baby Congo African Grey as a gift from my husband. I wanted a finch. Obviously, I didn't know anything about Greys, especially one without feathers, cannot even perch yet, and had to be fed with a syringe. You think my Grey is better off dead? I've had him for 9 years, have no clue what sex he is, and I can tell you, after owning my bird for a while, I am probably as knowledgeable about these things as you, if not more so. He is healthy - I got vet certs to prove it - and very well adjusted to me, although, he has certain people he just doesn't like - my husband included.

I considered my experience with my bird as the best thing that ever gave me education on the species.

At the risk of sounding insulting (which I have no intention of doing), this kind of thought process is what got PETA into my list of undesirable organizations.