REXANO EDitorial, www.rexano.org
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) August 24, 2007 — In response to a number of local, state and federal legislators introducing bills to ban or curb private ownership of exotic animals in the name of public safety, REXANO (Responsible Exotic Animal Ownership) has been organized to refute claims that these animals are dangerous to the general public by offering a free web resource designed to give tools and statistics based research material to private owners of exotics to fight unfair legislation.
“In the USA, only one person dies per year as a result of an attack by captive big cat, 1.5 by captive reptile,0.81 by captive elephant, 0.125 by captive bear and 0 by captive non-human primate. In comparison, 45,000 people die each year in traffic accidents, 47 by lightening, and 1,600 by falling from stairs. We have detailed information on our website http://www.rexano.org about our ongoing fight against uninformed legislators and animal rights (AR) activists,” says Zuzana Kukol, a Las Vegas tiger trainer and co-founder of REXANO.
To jump start the process of fighting for owners’ rights, REXANO is offering free “Just SAY NO! to Exotic Animal Bans” downloadable flyers in 3 sizes, from small to poster size:
http://www.rexano.org/Posters_JustSayNO/JSN_Gallery.htm
The posters feature different exotic species: birds, non-human primates, reptiles and big cats and range from educational to satire/parodies of many well known advertising campaigns of the past . They can be used non commercially in the pet store, veterinarian office, school outreach, traveling educational and entertaining exhibit, or any business to educate the public about the AR threat to our way of life.
These powerful and well funded extreme AR groups, instead of truly helping captive animals and wild conservation directly, work hard on eventually eliminate all animal uses, including removing pets from our homes, meat from our tables, leather goods from our closets, animals from zoos, rodeos, circuses and medical research, as well as hunters from our forests.
REXANO is committed to protecting the rights of animal owners and supports responsible private ownership of exotic animals in any form, be it non-commercial pet or sanctuary, as well as commercial breeder or exhibitor.
“Most of the wild habitat is disappearing. The only chance to save many animals such as tigers from extinction is captive breeding in the private sector, which has the majority of available habitat,” says Scott Shoemaker, co-founder of REXANO. “Since at least 1990, there has not been one death as a result of a captive big cat or reptile roaming at large.”
While federal bills curbing private ownership of non-human primates and prohibiting public contact with baby exotic cats (Haley’s act) failed to pass in previous years, they have been reintroduced again this year.
State bills curbing exotic animal ownership failed to pass in Indiana, West Virginia, Oregon, Missouri and North Carolina this year; Ohio and Wisconsin currently have active bills. Florida, Iowa and Washington State’s bills have already passed and were signed by their Governors into a law. Many states plan to bring the legislation back next year.
Even people who don’t own animals should realize that every time a new law is passed, the government powers and bureaucracy grow and our personal freedoms shrink,” warns Kukol. “Many animal rights activists sensationalize exotic animal attacks and are presenting exotic animal ownership as a public safety issue to scare the public, but there are no facts to back it up. This fraud and fear mongering has to stop.”
“As long as animal welfare and public safety laws are followed, the private ownership of all animals should be protected in the USA,” says Shoemaker.
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5 users commented in " REXANO’s ‘Just SAY NO! to Exotic Animal Bans’ Campaign Bares it All "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackOh, pulleaze, REXANO! You know you people don’t have an ethical leg to stand on! You wild animal slaveowners do it because it makes you lots of money and/or you get off on lording it over wild animals. If you’re really concerned about the loss of habitat issue (which I doubt) then work to slow down human breeding through universal free birth control/abortion and let wildlife have some of their territory back.
Dear Ardeth,
How do exotic owners make lots of money? These are pets not some commercial venture. The animals have very expensive dietary needs and believe me, the vets that treat these animals are the highest paid! Slave owners? That is such a joke! Are you really a Kool-aid drinker or what? These animals live the life of luxury and I hear people like you accuse the same thing about my dog and cat… they wouldn’t leave if I tried to force them to and they are at home lounging while I am at work making the oney to keep them healthy and happy! I get up at 6am to give them their first homecooked meal of the day so China can’t poison them ever again. Perhaps your mother should have practiced birth control as you seem to be a very unhappy being. Live and let live Ardeth. Life is too precious to spend your time ranting abut others lifestyle choices. Besides, this is STILL America and people like you are free to rant because of 100s of years of generations of my family members dying to protect your rights to rant and my rights to own animals and treat them like the treasure they are!
Ardeth, I take a strong exception to your article. First of all, I see you have been traied well by the AR folks whose beliefs you subscribe to, to use ‘loaded words’. Slaveowners? I bet you have never spent any time whatsoever close to a properly raised exotic animal, let alone a big cat (which is my primary interest). These animals, if properly raaised in a loving and caring environment build the most remarkable bonds with their keepers. Bonds that change your life forever. It is not a question of ‘lording it over some animal’. Often, they ‘lord it over’ us, by ‘owning’ us. In a sense, the cats tame us, and not the other way around. And, I am a much better person, having been so ‘tamed’.
We aren’t going to win the overpopulation battle unless a lot of people change their mind. This is about as likely as the earth changing direction in orbit. And population control by killing children (abortion) is as reprehensible a way of dealing with overpopulation as exists. For many exotic animals, captive husbandry is their only hope left. Please use common sense, and give these still-noble animals a chance to exist.
I have yet to earn one cent for having my monkeys… well I was once given a discount at a store for having my squirrel monkey with me… All MY money gets put INTO my monkeys care. I spend money on their food, enrichment toys, vet bills etc. And I do so very happily because my monkeys are happy and healthy.
Stop human overpopulation?!?! It is almost impossible considering the native habitats of most of these animals are in 3rd world countries where the governments don’t really care what happens to them. I am NOT saying their habitats should be forgotten. Of course not. The human race should try as hard as they can save their natural environments. BUT without captive breeding the day, if it were to come, that their “wild” habitats were safe there would not be any animals to return. Conservation comes in two forms…habitat protection and captive breeding. If private owners are able to meet the same safety/husbandry requirements as zoos and do it out of the love/fascination for the animal then they should be able to. The more tigers in healthy captive environment the more that will be able to mate in order to continue the species, maintain genetic diversity, and greater chances of harboring pure bred genes. Or else one day your children will be looking at lions and tigers through the pages of an encyclopedia, NOT the wild.
Dying to Be Held
If we were only $20.00 away from curing cancer, we would surely all clamor to be the one to complete the fundraising for the cure. Some of the ills of our society are that close to a cure. Ending the abuse of baby lions and tigers is one of them.
In 2005 The Chronicles of Narnia’s computer generated animation of Aslan the lion captivated the imagination of all who witnessed the fantasy. The notion of being so special that the creature known as the King of Beasts would allow us to touch him became irresistible to many when they were allowed to act out their fantasy. It only cost them $20.00… and their conscience.
After paying $20.00 to have their picture made with a baby lion or tiger the vast majority of people, who learned the truth about the miserable lives captive cats lead, confess “I knew in my heart that there was something wrong…” Often it is the nagging conscience, reminding them of the distressed baby’s cries for their real mothers, the barren accommodations, and the sleaziness of the business operators that haunted them long after the thrill of the moment had passed.
Most of the “pay to play” operations stay on the move. They set up in flea markets, fair grounds and parking lots for only a few days at a time. They frequently change their names and rarely own a facility anywhere that is open to public scrutiny. Then know that their pitch of doing this for education or conservation can easily be disproved. By the time they are found out, they are on the road again. In 2005 there were far too many lion and tiger babies bred just for this purpose and those who paid to touch them would be appalled if they knew how life has turned out for those innocent cubs.
Big cats can breed several times a year, giving birth to 2-6 cubs. The cubs are immediately pulled and bottle raised so that the mothers can be bred again. It was not unusual to see a circus-type side show offering the public the chance to handle cubs who were only days old. To keep the cubs small they are often starved, and deprived of the calcium and vitamins needed to build big, healthy bodies. In some cases cubs have been purposely poisoned to give them diarrhea so that they cannot put on any weight. Pound for pound a big cat is 12 times stronger than a man, so keeping them small and handlable is the main objective for these abusers. When they get too big to use, they disappear and there is virtually no way to track them. If the dealer has 10 tigers this year and 10 tigers next year, then it appears as if no births and no disappearances have happened, so no further investigation takes place. It is no coincidence that the US is the second largest consumer of illegal, black market tiger parts.
In 2007 USDA adopted a policy stating that baby big cats, under the age of 8 weeks and over the age of 16 weeks, could not be handled by the public. They also define a big cat as lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, mountain lions, and cheetahs. Florida and some other states still classify a mountain lion as a small cat and allow them to be kept as pets, despite the fact that they can grow to be over 200 lbs and are very dangerous.
Many pseudo sanctuaries breed their big cats to attract donors and to lure volunteers who want to play with the babies. But in 2007 the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced: “Accredited wildlife sanctuary means a facility that cares for live specimens of one or more of the prohibited wildlife species and:
(1) Is approved by the United States Internal Revenue Service as a corporation that is exempt from taxation under Sec. 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) Does not commercially trade in prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and products;
(3) Does not propagate any of the prohibited wildlife species; and
(4) Does not allow any direct contact between the public and the prohibited wildlife species.” (prohibited wildlife species incl. lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded leopards, jaguars, cougars and cheetahs).
(Legitimate sanctuaries meet or exceed the minimum requirements at SanctuaryStandards.com)
A lot can change in three years and there have been fewer and fewer news reports hawking the fun of touching a baby wild cat. Venues are becoming more aware of the public disdain for the practice and no longer want to be associated with what is now commonly viewed as cruelty. Every year there is a parade in Pinellas County, FL where a local man takes his tigers, bears and other exotic animals out in circus wagons as part of the spectacle. It has been a tradition that has gone from being accepted to being booed in just the last year. The operation owner and wildlife trapper, Vernon Yates was quoted in the St. Pete Times as saying, “I thought I would not see it in my lifetime but I think it’s coming — any form of private (exotic animal) ownership will be gone.” The public has become better informed and not only is refusing to support this abuse, but many people are coming forward to end it.
Innkeepers at the Sobotta Manor Bed and Breakfast, Robin and Thurman Hester, wrote Big Cat Rescue asking for help, saying, “I am an Innkeeper in Mount Airy North Carolina where an organization called The Zoo (owned by Pat & Robert Engessor) visited a few days back and they had as part of their show an eight week old tiger cub that was being handed to person after person to have photos made and was crying as in pain the entire time. Additionally when the cat was placed back in the pen it was two ill to even walk and had severe dysentery. They would just rinse its rear and hand to the next person. The condition of this baby was awful and I am afraid for its life. My friend, as well as others, witnessed the condition of this cub. I am from Tampa and am familiar with your organization and hope you can assist.”
Paula Sabatke writes, “I live in northern Wisconsin and visited the Big Cat Rescue for the first time in December, although I have been a fan for years. I am sure that you hear these stories all to often, but I would like your help. This past weekend I attended a professional conference in the Wisconsin Dells at a large resort, the Kalahari. In the lobby, a private vendor was set up with a very young white tiger cub in a small glass enclosure. For a fee, one could pay to have a picture taken with the cub. This cub was about the size of a large house cat and could barely stand on its own. While I took the opportunity to tell anyone who would listen what a terrible and inhumane situation this was, I felt that I should be doing something more. Can you offer any suggestions?”
One of the heretofore most popular tourist attractions in Africa was the opportunity to pet baby lions. The operators of these lion farms have sold themselves as being conservation breeding programs so that people would feel good about doing something that they know in their hearts to be wrong. The Drakenstien Lion Park urges people to consider these facts, “These inbred, human imprinted and psychologically damaged animals have absolutely no conservation value. They cannot be rehabilitated into the wild. They cannot be used to supplement dwindling wild populations.” The lion park, which rescues some cast off captive bred lions, further explains that the only use for these cubs, after they have grown up, is by the canned hunting ranches and says, “Every reputable animal welfare organization in the world considers the practice of using lion cubs for human playthings as cruelty.”
Carole Baskin, Founder of Big Cat Rescue reports, “We respond to every one of these complaints and urge the witness to take pictures, videos and written statements about what they saw to the USDA, to the state agencies that monitor wildlife, and to the media to expose the awful way these great cats are being treated.” They have been doing it and there has been a tremendous shift in the way people are thinking about and treating wild animals.
When the next Aslan the lion movie, Prince Caspian, opened in theaters May 17, 2008 there did not appear to be even one baby lion or baby tiger photo booth advertised across the nation. “We monitor the keywords: lion, tiger, cub, big cat and others via google news alerts and we closely monitor sites like http://www.911AnimalAbuse.com which is a site that allows people who have witnessed animal abuse to post a letter, photos and video while contacting USDA and the agencies mentioned above at the bottom of every page. We didn’t see one report of a baby lion or baby tiger being used as a prop in conjunction with the opening of the movie,” says Carole Baskin.
So near and yet so far. Exotic and endangered animals are increasingly in the mainstream news as experts such as the 43 member, International Tiger Coalition and the World Bank announced a launch in June of 2008 to save the tiger from extinction. These same groups compiled a petition of more than 125,000 signatures to ban tiger farming. And yet, at a restaurant in Florida on Memorial Day Weekend, the special was “lion steak” for $48.95 a plate because the lion, although in considerable peril, is not yet classified as endangered. To quote Harrison Ford in his public service announcement for Wildaid, a member of the International Tiger Coalition, “When the buying stops, the killing can too.”
We are standing right on the edge of the societal shift toward being more compassionate. There is a bill before congress that will end the public contact with big cats and their babies and thousands upon thousands of people have written their lawmakers to support this bill to protect the babies from being bred, used and discarded as petting props. It is called Haley’s Act (HR 1947) and is named after a 17 year old girl who was mauled to death by a tiger while posing for a photo. You can write a letter in support of the new law at http://www.CatLaws.com You can end this kind of animal abuse in your lifetime. The cure is only $20.00 and a letter away. Don’t pay to play with a baby big cat and write your Congress today!
See the lengths Big Cat Rescue will go to in order for a bobcat kitten to have a “real” mom: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/video/00197.htm
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