AR-News: (US-WI) FUND FOR ANIMALS URGES HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BOARD TO "KEEP WILD ANIMALS IN THE WILD"

[Tracey McIntire]

For Immediate Release

FUND FOR ANIMALS URGES HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BOARD TO KEEP WILD 
ANIMALS IN THE WILD

LA CROSSE, WI (March 15, 2004)  In a letter sent to the County Health 
and Human Services Board, The Fund for Animals, a national animal 
protection organization, urged board members to approve a proposed 
ordinance to restrict the private possession of wild and exotic animals. 
The board has currently put a hold on approving the ban after a March 9 
hearing.

The publics fascination with wild animals can be dangerous when these 
animals are bred, sold, and promoted as trendy pets, said Andi 
Bernat, Program Coordinator for The Fund for Animals. There are human 
health and safety issues to take into consideration, as well as animal 
cruelty issues.

With the advent of the Internet, almost any animal can be bought or sold 
for a price. Bernat estimated that 10,000 tigers, 20,000 large cats, 17 
million birds, 9 million reptiles, and 3,000 primates are held as 
private pets. These animals are wild and no amount of caging, 
declawing, defanging, chaining or beating will change that, said 
Bernat. There have been thousands of documented human injuries and 
fatalities as a result of captive wild animal attacks. Due to 
inappropriate care, a stressful environment, and the very nature of the 
animals involved, exotic animals held in captivity often act out in 
aggressive and dangerous ways.

Bernat also pointed out that people might be unaware of the possible 
risk of disease transmitted by exotic animals. Almost all reptiles, 
including turtles, carry salmonella, while other diseases such as Ebola, 
monkey pox, and tuberculosis can be transmitted to humans from animals 
such as monkeys and prairie dogs. Outbreaks of infectious diseases have 
prompted the FDA, The Center for Disease Control, and the Interior 
Department to testify before Congress as to the growing problem of 
exotic animals held in captivity in the United States.

The animals themselves suffer too. Keeping exotic animals in any 
environment other than the wild is cruel and inhumane, said Bernat. 
Experts estimate that due to poor living conditions and inadequate 
care, 60 percent of wild animals kept as pets die within the first 
month of ownership, 20 percent die the first year, and only 10 percent 
survive for two or more years.

We strongly urge the Board to pass this ordinance and ban exotics as 
pets, Bernat continued. Wild animals with complex biological and 
social needs should not be victimized by human fads, nor should human 
safety be put in jeopardy.