Post by cat001 on Oct 14, 2014 12:47:45 GMT
Online I’ve sometimes been the target of prejudice because I own reptiles I’ve been talked down to and considered cruel and immoral for having these animals in my care. I find there are some common misconceptions about pet reptiles and a few assumptions about myself and my animals. Here’s some of those assumptions and misconceptions….
- My reptiles are ‘wild’
I find the word ‘wild’ is often used when people talk about exotic pets. I think what people actually mean by ‘wild’ is non-domestic.
‘Wild’ implies born in their country of origin and captured to be sold in the pet trade. It implies an animal poorly adapted to captivity and an animal which has not undergone any selective breeding. A domestic species is one which has undergone selective breeding and posses genes and traits not seen in wild populations.
I own Leopard Geckos and Corn Snakes, both of which have undergone intense selective breeding over several decades and posses traits not existing in wild populations. Corn snakes and leopard geckos are considered domesticated (albeit not to the same degree as cats and dogs, domesticated nonetheless), in fact the corn snake is considered the most domesticated of snakes and the leopard gecko the most domesticated gecko. There’s been an established captive population of Corns and Leo’s for a long time and it’s from this captive population my animals derive from. They possess traits (both physical and behavioural) that would not be seen in the wild, they were never taken from the wild and they would not survive in the wild and are well adapted to a captive lifestyle. I’m not certain if these people think I had these animal imported from the wild but that certainly isn’t the case. Perhaps the level of domestication achieved with these animals and the degree at which captive populations differ from wild populations is just not appreciated.
There are indeed some pet reptiles which have been taken from the wild but not all reptiles are. I myself disagree with the capture and distribution of wild animals, not only is it detrimental to that individual animal but potentially damaging to entire populations from over-collection or damage to micro-habitats during the collection process. Wild animals are not suitable as pets.
- Assumption that I had these animals imported
As it happens my reptiles are from people who could no longer care for them (male gecko from college friend who needed to re-home and asked me, female gecko from reptile rescue I knew, he offered me her, snakes from sister who grew disinterested so I took over their care). I’ve never actually gone out on my own accord and bought an animal, I’ve certainly never owned a WC or even a CF reptile and I do not advocate it. I only have reptiles because of fortuitous circumstances and since having them I’m now aiming for a career in wildlife conservation.
- They should be in the wild
As already explained, my animals are from a well established captive population and posses genes and learnt behaviours that would be very deleterious to their survival in the wild. The genes they posses would also be extremely dangerous to wild populations if released domestic reptiles were to breed with wild populations. It’s a very anthropocentric view that all pet reptiles should be in the wild and concerns fulfilling the human ideology rather than what’s actually best for the individual animal considering it’s unique circumstances (captive bred, well adapted to captivity, would adapt poorly to living wild, inappropriate behaviour and colouration would result in predation etc). Practically speaking I only had 2 options when offered these animals; 1. Refuse to take them on and allow them to go to another unknown owner, 2. Accept responsibility for the animals and provide the best and most appropriate care I can provide. Even if it was somehow financially practical to fly them over to their ancestral country of origin it would not be appropriate or in the animals best interest to release them into these unfamiliar surroundings. Indeed animals from the wild should ideally remain in the wild, as animals from captivity should remain in captivity. For an animal from captivity to be released into the wild, it should have ideally gone through a process of careful breeding to maintain wild traits and genetics as similar as possible to that observed in the wild and have undergone some sort of conditioning to prepare the animal to be self sufficient in the wild.
- It’s cruel to keep reptiles
I personally would consider an action towards an animal cruel if that action impacts negatively on the animal such as stress, pain, discomfort etc. Animals captured from the wild may adapt very poorly to captivity and I will reiterate is not something I myself condone. However, animals from well established captive populations are not liable to stress as those sourced from the wild. Captive bred reptiles (including my own) are well adapted to captivity and under correct management have no reason to be stressed. Stress is often a result of prolonged fear or an inability to exhibit natural behavioural repertoires and satisfy physiological and nutritional needs. When all aspects of care are provided for captive reptiles the animal does not become stressed therefore keeping a captive bred domestic reptile cannot be considered cruel if all aspects of care are provided for. I know that my reptiles are well cared for and that they are relaxed around me and view me as a provider. It is possible to establish a rapport with reptiles, they can identify individuals and remember who they’ve had good or bad experiences with. They’re not as simple minded as many people would like to believe.
I’ve come to the conclusion that these people are simply misguided in their anger towards me and it’s the wildlife trade that they actually don’t like (and if they tried getting to know me they’d learn it’s something I don’t approve of either). I care greatly for animal welfare and what’s best for the individual animal must be considered given with further considerations to its unique circumstances. My animals were all born from a captive population and it would certainly not be to their benefit to release them into the wild so the best option for them is for them to be cared for by a competent owner. When a captive bred animal is cared for appropriately and the animal is content with the care it’s receiving I don’t think it fair or appropriate to call the caretaker cruel.
Sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant, I’d like to clarify it’s not aimed at anyone and just something I wanted to get off my chest.
- My reptiles are ‘wild’
I find the word ‘wild’ is often used when people talk about exotic pets. I think what people actually mean by ‘wild’ is non-domestic.
‘Wild’ implies born in their country of origin and captured to be sold in the pet trade. It implies an animal poorly adapted to captivity and an animal which has not undergone any selective breeding. A domestic species is one which has undergone selective breeding and posses genes and traits not seen in wild populations.
I own Leopard Geckos and Corn Snakes, both of which have undergone intense selective breeding over several decades and posses traits not existing in wild populations. Corn snakes and leopard geckos are considered domesticated (albeit not to the same degree as cats and dogs, domesticated nonetheless), in fact the corn snake is considered the most domesticated of snakes and the leopard gecko the most domesticated gecko. There’s been an established captive population of Corns and Leo’s for a long time and it’s from this captive population my animals derive from. They possess traits (both physical and behavioural) that would not be seen in the wild, they were never taken from the wild and they would not survive in the wild and are well adapted to a captive lifestyle. I’m not certain if these people think I had these animal imported from the wild but that certainly isn’t the case. Perhaps the level of domestication achieved with these animals and the degree at which captive populations differ from wild populations is just not appreciated.
There are indeed some pet reptiles which have been taken from the wild but not all reptiles are. I myself disagree with the capture and distribution of wild animals, not only is it detrimental to that individual animal but potentially damaging to entire populations from over-collection or damage to micro-habitats during the collection process. Wild animals are not suitable as pets.
- Assumption that I had these animals imported
As it happens my reptiles are from people who could no longer care for them (male gecko from college friend who needed to re-home and asked me, female gecko from reptile rescue I knew, he offered me her, snakes from sister who grew disinterested so I took over their care). I’ve never actually gone out on my own accord and bought an animal, I’ve certainly never owned a WC or even a CF reptile and I do not advocate it. I only have reptiles because of fortuitous circumstances and since having them I’m now aiming for a career in wildlife conservation.
- They should be in the wild
As already explained, my animals are from a well established captive population and posses genes and learnt behaviours that would be very deleterious to their survival in the wild. The genes they posses would also be extremely dangerous to wild populations if released domestic reptiles were to breed with wild populations. It’s a very anthropocentric view that all pet reptiles should be in the wild and concerns fulfilling the human ideology rather than what’s actually best for the individual animal considering it’s unique circumstances (captive bred, well adapted to captivity, would adapt poorly to living wild, inappropriate behaviour and colouration would result in predation etc). Practically speaking I only had 2 options when offered these animals; 1. Refuse to take them on and allow them to go to another unknown owner, 2. Accept responsibility for the animals and provide the best and most appropriate care I can provide. Even if it was somehow financially practical to fly them over to their ancestral country of origin it would not be appropriate or in the animals best interest to release them into these unfamiliar surroundings. Indeed animals from the wild should ideally remain in the wild, as animals from captivity should remain in captivity. For an animal from captivity to be released into the wild, it should have ideally gone through a process of careful breeding to maintain wild traits and genetics as similar as possible to that observed in the wild and have undergone some sort of conditioning to prepare the animal to be self sufficient in the wild.
- It’s cruel to keep reptiles
I personally would consider an action towards an animal cruel if that action impacts negatively on the animal such as stress, pain, discomfort etc. Animals captured from the wild may adapt very poorly to captivity and I will reiterate is not something I myself condone. However, animals from well established captive populations are not liable to stress as those sourced from the wild. Captive bred reptiles (including my own) are well adapted to captivity and under correct management have no reason to be stressed. Stress is often a result of prolonged fear or an inability to exhibit natural behavioural repertoires and satisfy physiological and nutritional needs. When all aspects of care are provided for captive reptiles the animal does not become stressed therefore keeping a captive bred domestic reptile cannot be considered cruel if all aspects of care are provided for. I know that my reptiles are well cared for and that they are relaxed around me and view me as a provider. It is possible to establish a rapport with reptiles, they can identify individuals and remember who they’ve had good or bad experiences with. They’re not as simple minded as many people would like to believe.
I’ve come to the conclusion that these people are simply misguided in their anger towards me and it’s the wildlife trade that they actually don’t like (and if they tried getting to know me they’d learn it’s something I don’t approve of either). I care greatly for animal welfare and what’s best for the individual animal must be considered given with further considerations to its unique circumstances. My animals were all born from a captive population and it would certainly not be to their benefit to release them into the wild so the best option for them is for them to be cared for by a competent owner. When a captive bred animal is cared for appropriately and the animal is content with the care it’s receiving I don’t think it fair or appropriate to call the caretaker cruel.
Sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant, I’d like to clarify it’s not aimed at anyone and just something I wanted to get off my chest.
Folk are so quick to criticise without finding out the facts! 
