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FL-Ban exotic pets
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by tigers9 on August 25, 2008
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http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/656417.html
Ban exotic pets
OUR OPINION: THEY BECOME PESTS, HAZARDOUS TO NATIVE FLORA, FAUNA
Posted on Mon, Aug. 25, 2008
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Florida needs to tighten its animal regulations. Too many people own exotic pets that don't belong in Florida's ecosystem; nor in its urban centers, either.
Take the case of the lion and tiger that escaped from their cage in Palm Beach County last week, apparently after being spooked by stormy weather from Tropical Storm Fay. The lion and tiger are part of a five-acre animal sanctuary, but the property is close to three public schools. Students at the schools had to be kept indoors until the big cats were found and returned to their cages.
The sanctuary has no business being so close to these schools.
Later, as Fay trundled toward the Panhandle, bad weather apparently scared an emu kept in the backyard of a home in Bay County. Sheriff's deputies spent days (and resources) chasing after the bird before it was caught and taken to an animal shelter.
While at one time ancient Florida was traversed by mastodons and fierce saber-toothed tigers, that was long ago. Neither emus, lions nor tigers belong in Florida today any more than do the pythons and anacondas breeding in the Everglades. They and the ''pet'' lizards, especially the Nile monitor lizard, that outgrow their welcome are exotic pests, hazardous to Florida's natural flora and fauna.
This is sadly ironic: Florida can barely keep alive endangered native species, such as the Florida panther. Yet exotic creatures are allowed to proliferate all around us.
The Legislature should restrict the kind of animals that private individuals can own. Any creatures that are dangerous or are a threat to Florida's ecosystem should be banned. We simply don't need lions and tigers, or pythons and anacondas, or emus and dangerous lizards, inhabiting established communities where we work and play.
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This could seriously backfire on all of us. Many legistlators are clueless about "exotics' . Keep in mind, folks, that parrots are considered exotics. In some states , they can actually enter your home and take your quaker parrots and destroy them. I think this is an area that needs to be treated very delicately.
Since when was an emu considered a dangerous exotic?
• Posted by: farsah
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• 8/25/2008 8:13 AM
• 55096.1 Report as Violation
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Avg 3.00, 2 votes
Exotics have no place here, as their are far too many careless and irresponsible pet owners in Miami. To give some relief to the many native species that are now threatened by the exotics, the Fish & Game Commission should hold hutnting rodeos, in which participants pony up $100 each to hunt boas & pythons in the everglades, w/ cash prize for the most bagged serpents.
• Posted by: IMTrashman
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• 8/25/2008 8:25 AM
• 55096.2 Report as Violation
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Avg 4.00, 4 votes
There is one animal that has run rampant here in Florida and has destroyed much of the ecosystem as it was, yet no one seems to care. Man was virtually non-existent in this part of the state 150 years ago and now we have changed, manipulated, ruined what once was Florida, yet we get all excited when a few animals that aren't native get loose. In a few decades man will have completed the transformation of Florida when the rising seas will inundate most of the southern portions of the state. Then we won't have to worry about pythons in the everglades and parrots nesting on transformers. There will be nobody here to care.
• Posted by: JD51
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• 8/25/2008 10:52 AM
• 55096.3 Report as Violation
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Avg 5.00, 1 vote
When exotic pets are allowed to be sold, it would help if we were selling only one sex. This will stop their reprotective cycle This is vital as non-native species have, or will soon, over-run the habitat of alligators by nile monitor lizards and boas? Either of these 2 mentioned animals could re-produce rapidly because they have no natural enemies. The same thing is happening with Pacific Ocean fish, let go because they two expensive to keep. We survived the near loss of the alligator, only to see it revive itself. We could place a bounty on them, and sell their hides.
• Posted by: lenny1
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RE: FL-Ban exotic pets
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by rgonzales on August 27, 2008
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what none of these people who call for for bans on exotic pets realize is how much damage and how invasive domestic cats are. where i live feral cats run rampant and as far as i know there are no leash laws for cats. so how about we ban them if we're so afraid of invasive species doing damage to native wildlife. i get so sick of hearing about how we should not be able to keep our pets because of the damage they could do. what about the damage that has already been done by cats?
sorry for the rant it just gets frustrating
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