ASPCA, You're doing it wrong!

For those in the US, this is what the ASPCA states on exotic animals:

ASPCA | Exotic Animals as Pets

Because cornsnakes, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, bearded dragons, etc. are the same as keeping black panthers.

As for the organizations of ASPCA and HSUS, of course they don't do what everyone thinks that they really do. Where the money goes, what they actually do with the animals they "rescue" - those are things about the organizations that most people don't actually know about. We're taught through the media to trust them, until we can actually understand and experience for ourselves.

Anyway, the point is, this is another organization that's a media powerhouse going about with wonky definitions. Of course there is a clear difference to keepers between having a black panther and having a bearded dragon or cornsnake that has been captive bred for generations, or other things. These organizations only give a false dichotomy - it is either domesticated (a dog, cat, or horse) or it is exotic and should not be kept. This excludes the variations in between of animals that have been captive bred for some time, like cornsnakes for more than 30 some-odd years. Clearly not the same as bringing over a panther.

The practice of keeping animals does benefit the animals in cases of good care. It also benefits the keepers, who can learn and teach others that animals we have traditionally thought of as "scary" like snakes aren't all out to eat our children. There are bad keepers that cause problems, yes. But it's the same problems that equal the amount of feral dogs and cats that have been caused by bad owners. It is not an issue of domesticated or not, though some animals clearly should not be kept by inexperienced people, but rather an issue of education.

Anyway, this complete glossing over of any inbetweens irritated me greatly. Not that these types of huge organizations are trustworthy anyway.

Donate and volunteer only at local shelters! They're the ones that do the real work!

Yes, the H$US, PETA and the ALF are all doing the same thing. They're all just well funded slaughter houses with celebrities on their side. If they had it their way everyone would be eating plants and there would no longer be "pets", not even cats and dogs. It's very sad that many pet owners donate their money to these organizations without knowing what is really going on.

We never donate to those money-grubbing so-and-sos. Give money in your community, where you can see the good it does first hand!

I have lost all respect for the RSPCA here in Australia - they've wasted millions of dollars targeting tail docking (now illegal here in Australia) I have been a part of dog breeding for 20+ yrs & the last thing the tree hugging hippies should be worried about is beautifully bred dogs who are docked by caring responsible breeders. What they should put their time & efforts into is the puppy mills pumping out dogs that are poorly bred & brought up in slum surroundings. Lets not start with pet shops who treat their "stock" terribly with little concern as to the adequacy of their new homes nor the ability of the new prospective owners.

I feel the same way about greenpeace - they've gotten away from saving the whales & are now too heavily involved in politicking (something that they used to pride themselves on being non- political)



<3 >o_o< <3

Nikki71 said:

I have lost all respect for the RSPCA here in Australia - they've wasted millions of dollars targeting tail docking (now illegal here in Australia) I have been a part of dog breeding for 20+ yrs & the last thing the tree hugging hippies should be worried about is beautifully bred dogs who are docked by caring responsible breeders. What they should put their time & efforts into is the puppy mills pumping out dogs that are poorly bred & brought up in slum surroundings. Lets not start with pet shops who treat their "stock" terribly with little concern as to the adequacy of their new homes nor the ability of the new prospective owners.

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Sorry to disagree with you Nikki, but I don't believe in tail docking of dogs. But I do agree with you about the fact that more time and money should be put into other issues such as said 'puppy mills pumping out dogs that are poorly bred & brought up in slum surroundings'.

I'm not trying to start an argument, just saying my opinion.

Nikki71 said:

I have lost all respect for the RSPCA here in Australia - they've wasted millions of dollars targeting tail docking (now illegal here in Australia) I have been a part of dog breeding for 20+ yrs & the last thing the tree hugging hippies should be worried about is beautifully bred dogs who are docked by caring responsible breeders. What they should put their time & efforts into is the puppy mills pumping out dogs that are poorly bred & brought up in slum surroundings. Lets not start with pet shops who treat their "stock" terribly with little concern as to the adequacy of their new homes nor the ability of the new prospective owners.

I feel the same way about greenpeace - they've gotten away from saving the whales & are now too heavily involved in politicking (something that they used to pride themselves on being non- political)



<3 >o_o< <3

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I opposed the tail docking ban here - I am lucky enough to have a "natural breed" (to clarify what I mean by that - bones recognisable as belonging to the breed have been carbondated at about 5000 years old - they pre-date selective human breeding efforts). Knowing the reasons FOR tail docking, I done some digging to find out why a govt minister would even be interested an amendment to the animal welfare act that would prevent it happening. What I found - and challenged the committee on - was the TRADE advantages of having such a ban in place.

It sounded very much like their advice came straight from PETA "any interference must be wrong" - zero understanding that docked breeds are docked for their own health and safety - totally falling for that "are docked for appearance" spiel. No knowledge of the physiology involved or even the basics like the issue of lack of bloodflow to the tail and the large number of very traumatic amputations that have to be done as a result of not docking. No idea that in some of those breeds many are actually born with a natural bobtail - and so on and so on.

No idea about anything EXCEPT political and trade advantages to taking the anti-docking stance at the expense of the well being of the animals involved.

We actually won that round - but it wouldnt surprise me if it has since changed.

I always suggest that if people really want to help/donate - adopt - if you cant adopt, sponsor someone who can - donate food to a "no kill shelter" in your local community or help out that "crazy cat lady" who takes in all the strays or something that actually ensures the ANIMALS truly benefit in some way.

The so called "animal welfare" organisations are pretty much all POLITICAL organisations now and the so called "animal rights" groups (such as PETA) have their finger in pretty much every pie.

FireStar said:

Sorry to disagree with you Nikki, but I don't believe in tail docking of dogs. But I do agree with you about the fact that more time and money should be put into other issues such as said 'puppy mills pumping out dogs that are poorly bred & brought up in slum surroundings'.

I'm not trying to start an argument, just saying my opinion.

Click to expand...

Docking is always going to get emotional responses - I've removed myself from the emotions of this initial docking process by actually partaking & assisting in the docking of 2 day old puppies (100's of times!) & can reassure you first hand that the puppies aren't traumatised by the process - I've been involved in both a surgical / cut dock & also the banding method where blood flow is cut off & over a couple of days tail falls off... The later is far more traumatic for the pup as it lasts days! Cutting the tail off & stitching closed the wound results in a couple of licks from mum & the pups do not even realise. At 2 days the nervous system is not fully functional & the pups cannot see or hear still - they are more upset from bring turned over than they are from the tail docking cut itself.

I get frustrated by the do gooders who jumped on the tail docking ban bandwagon - feeling they were doing the right thing by the animals. Where are those people when the animals undocked tails suffer severe damage & require amputation - a hugely painful surgery when performed on an adult dog & taking many months of recovery. The breeds that are historically docked tend to all have single short haired coats which do not offer any buffering protection like a double coated fluffy tailed dogs does... Simply wagging a tail into a corner of a wall can cause substantial damage to the tail, split skin, exposed bone, endless bleeding, infections, pain & suffering are the results of simply wagging a tail - that's not a way to go through life for a dog!
Dogs don't regenerate their tails like an axie does - so injury is a real problem.

I love the fact that NZ stands up to the majority of stupid laws & look forward to buying my next Dobermann from NZ so that I can have my dogs the way they were designed & too annoy the tree huggers when we go for walks lol

Sorry but now I have to post a pic of my boy just to show how awesome he is yup I'm totally biased lol





<3 >o_o< <3

I've never supported them because I don't support radicals. They would ban all hunting, fishing, work animals, ect. I have adopted two cats from a local shelter and cut them a check every Christmas. One of the problems with Western "civilization" is our Walt Disney view of nature. There's so many environmental fanatics out there that are so fevered about their causes, but I doubt they have ever even spent a day in the woods.
I shot and killed a deer last Thursday. The whole thing was over in a matter of minutes. Far less painful for the deer than if a wolf had taken it. I didn't start eating it alive like they do.....
The more money and power these organizations get, the more they push laws that limit our freedoms. Isn't it true that in the UK feeder fish are illegal? I would hate to see that kind of thing happen here.

Glad you got a deer, Jess! I'm jealous. Nobody brought me any delicious wild game this year, and I wasn't about to shell out $$$ for an out-of-state license here. No venison this winter *sad*