News Briefs for the Week of October 21, 2002
By Marcella Durand for Cat Facts
- Bill Could Ban Wild Animals As Pets
The days when thrill-seekers could keep a lion or tiger as a "pet" may soon be over-thanks to legislation recently introduced by Senators Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Robert C. Smith (R-NH) and Representative George Miller (D-CA) that would ban interstate shipments of dangerous exotic animals for the purpose of keeping them as private pets.
People frequently are won over by the cuteness of a baby tiger or lion, only to find that they, like every living thing, grow up-and their speed, strength, claws, fangs, and voracious appetite all grow up, too. Even when defanged and declawed-which is what many owners do in an effort to reduce the danger of keeping a wild animal-they can still be lethal, as evidenced by the three-year-old boy in Texas killed by his stepfather's "pet" tiger. However, more often, once the novelty wears off, the animal is left to languish in a small cage, or is abandoned on the doorstep of a local zoo or wildlife refuge. Since most of these "exotic pets" are inbred, or mentally and physically damaged by their time spent in close confinement, they are difficult to keep and cannot be used in carefully planned conservation breeding programs.
"You can take these animals out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of them," says actress Tippi Hendren, who runs the Shambala Preserve in California for abandoned exotic animals. "We are so grateful to Senators Jeffords and Smith and Representative Miller for leading the fight to stop the insane practice of keeping these animals as pets." The legislation is backed by the Humane Society of the United States, the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, the American Sanctuary Association, the Association of Sanctuaries, the Animal Protection Institute and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
- The Hilton of Animal Shelters
It's not often that animal shelters actually want to show off their facilities to visitors. After all, shelters are noisy, smelly and depressing-aren't they? Well, shelter administrators across the country are realizing that if you make the shelter a pleasant and attractive place with happy and healthy animals, then people might actually want to come in and adopt somebody furry to love.
That's the philosophy behind the brand-new Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) animal shelter in Richmond, Virginia, a city that used to have one of the highest rates of homeless dogs and cats in the country. Richmond SPCA took the best ideas from other cutting-edge shelters across the country to create the latest word in shelters. Some features include rehabilitation rooms, skylights, pristine spay-neuter facilities, and comfortable, homey pet-visiting areas. But one of the most exciting innovations is behavioral counseling and a behavior hotline for pet owners, part of a project called Project Safety Net. Best of all, the shelter's long-range plan includes no longer killing adoptable animals.
If you're in the Richmond area on October 19th, don't miss the Richmond SPCA's Grand Opening, which will feature a Parade of Pets from the old facility to the new, with alumni and current residents accompanied by vintage automobiles, a marching band and local sports team mascots. Now that's arriving in style! After the parade, there will be tours of the sparkling new facility, demonstrations, exhibitor information, refreshments, educational games and other activities during a day-long Open House. For more information, visit the shelter's web site at www.richmondspca.org.
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