Remember Born Free? I remember watching the movie in the 60s (I think) and being overcome with the beauty and the dignity of the lions, and the marvelous humans who helped. I need to watch it again, come to think of it! It’s been a while…
Born Free USA is doing an incredible job to wake people up to the dangers and cruelty of exotic pet keeping. According to their information, laws need to be passed to stop this practice. Not only are the animals forced to live in often intolerable conditions, but people have been maimed and killed by animals that are in no way meant to be domesticated! Born Free is living up to its name, and doing what they can to end exotic animal keeping outside of a sanctuary setting.
THese are some important points that Born Free USA is presenting:
* Exotics should no longer be bred, kept or shown at roadside zoos and menageries
* It is not just the safety of animals that is at risk, although that is a strong consideration. People can be injured, even killed by exotic pets. Children, of course, are at risk the most.
* Exotics should be transferred and housed in a sanctuary. However, if this is impossible, then the caretakers of these exotic pets must be held responsible for their condition and management, to make sure the animals are healthy and are of no risk to the public.
The only way to improve this situation is through legal means, according to Born Free USA. THere is just too much of this going on now. It’s something I haven’t given much thought to before reading their information, but it is obvious to me now! It is unfair to both humans and the animals that these exotics are kept as interesting “pets” which of course they will never truly be.
Imagine having a neighbor with a chimpanzee, lion or tiger in his or her backyard! It is unbelievable. And of course the worst offenders are those who deal in exotic pet sales themselves. They, of course, realize the dangers and deplorable condition so many of these animals end up in, but are making a good living from the misery of the animals. And I don’t know how they sleep at night knowing the possible danger their human caretakers are being put in.
I have never stopped at a roadside zoo, and don’t think I could stand to see the misery of the poor animals housed there. Born Free is doing a splendid job of waking people up to this situation, as I’m sure many other animal welfare groups are doing as well. And of course since a legal recourse may be the only way to stop this practice, it couldn’t hurt to write to your congressman and woman.
Exotic animals are beautiful and born to be free. How much better to admire them in their native environments, in sanctuaries and in zoos built around the natural setting these animals flourish in. I think we should be good caretakers of the earth and all of her life.
Are you humming the Born Free song yet? Ever since they contacted me and I started work on the benefit, I find myself humming and singing that beautiful song daily!
Because I am working on a benefit this week to help Born Free USA, I designed a lion key chain and lapel pin in honor of the event!
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