Sad

[Trish Allearz]

So today, I was at a math and science night at my son school. I had the pleasure of having a binturong climb all over me. My hubby had a Lemur on his shoulder for a good twenty minutes. I have handled all types of Exotics, but not bints or lemurs. If these bans continue to pass, there will be a day when no kids will ever know the joy of an exotic except behind bars or glass... The joy of the night was marred by this fact.

 

[Pam Flachs]

So today, I was at a math and science night at my son school. I had the pleasure of having a binturong climb all over me. My hubby had a Lemur on his shoulder for a good twenty minutes. I have handled all types of Exotics, but not bints or lemurs. If these bans continue to pass, there will be a day when no kids will ever know the joy of an exotic except behind bars or glass... The joy of the night was marred by this fact.

I know, Trish. Or they will have to read about them in books......

 

[Trish Allearz]

Here is the only good pic I got- this little guy really really liked Hubby.

 

[Pam Flachs]

Here is the only good pic I got- this little guy really really liked Hubby.

Awesome!

 

[Arline]

Nice dimples on that critter..... oh wait that's your husband, cute! LOL The lemur is awesome. He does look like he's pretty smitten with Hubs! Great pic, what fun! Too bad that it was marred by the thoughts of the exotic bans though. That is a very sad thought.

 

[Kronos]

I remember when I was in elementary school we had "The Reptile Man" come to visit and showed us exotic reptiles... all sorts of snakes, snapping turtles, lizards, it was so cool!

It is sad to think one day children of the future may never get to enjoy these sorts of moments we got to.

 

[Trish Allearz]

Thanks, guys- I just had to vent. I did check on any imposing exotic bans in our state and so far, we are clear- but everything is hinged on other states.

 

[Wyldthingz]

In California, there is little exotic ownership but in one sense, I think it is good. There are too many loonies here that think they can take proper care of one but really, they can't. I know someone who has an exotic animal permit. She has a friend who wanted a lemur so bad that she said she could come over and she guaranteed that in 5 minutes, she would change her mind. She let the lemur out and the friend changed her mind in 30 seconds. It is too bad there isn't a happy medium. Not saying that it should be outlawed either but that there needs to be some protection for exotics against those who are untrained or ill-equipped to care for them.
I just saw a program about some dumb kid in Florida that tried to raise a hyena in an apartment building? Really? Giving him up was hard on both of them but unfair to the hyena to have ever been put in that situation in the first place.

 

[Trish Allearz]

Since I've been involved in the exotic community- we did rescue out of California a time or two (since they are illegal there)- I can honestly say there are more good exotic owners then bad. It's just like pit owners- there are a lot more good pit owners out there then bad... But it takes just one jerk and they ruin it for everyone.

As for the lemur- lemurs aren't for everyone. They can be very high strung, personality-wise. But I know of a groomer who had a ringtail and he was a very very good boy- for her and her family. The fella we hung out with tonight was very very mellow as well.

While I do not think decent permit laws are a horrible thing- I think outright bans and laws that require owners to jump through IMPOSSIBLE hoops are horrible. Horrible.

 

[Per Lausund]

It can get worse: we´ve had exotics bans in place in Norway for 35 years, but then snakes ARE dangerous and you don´t really need them . People here are so estranged from animals (except the important ones like Savannahs (cats, I mean) and dogs) that when children (if they do) det to see farm animals they are surprised that hens and cows aren´t the same size! `Cause they are in the pictures.
I looked up HSUS on wikipedia yesterday, and there is a very one-sided article on it. The editorial function is open if anyone wants to contribute to a more balanced picture!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humane_Society_of_the_United_States#Rationale