moncler outlet uk Makes the NEWS. A baby boa

Exotic Pet Stories in the News

Why this list?Throughout my time arguing in defense of exotic pet ownership and zoos, it is very common for my opponents to point to something they’ve seen on some news story to back up their claims that a certain animal must be dangerous, roaming the wilds invasively, or frequently abused.

Many elements of various media influence or perceptions of groups of people, and animals and their owners are no exception to this rule. Misinformation abounds in almost every report that covers exotic/wild/non domesticated animals, and this information is unfortunately a big player in the misconceptions people have about animal behavior and people who may chose to own exotic pets.

So sit back and read in awe of some of the most blatant examples of rampant stupidity that is a result of the thriving, unforgivable ignorance of many so called animal officials and the sensationalism driven news media.

This list is always expanding! If you know of any other embarrassing misidentification or misinformation cases involving exotic pets or wild animals in the news, notify me in the comments or private message.

July 17th, 2011: A small native water snake is a baby BOA CONSTRICTOR This story that I viewed on my local news (News Channel 12 Westchester) a few years ago inspired the concept of this hub. The associated video and story have been deleted but I saved the transcript. It is as sad as it is utterly inane.

It is the report of a small snake, presumed to have originated from a Walmart (it could have slipped into this man’s shopping bag by plenty of other means), having been mercilessly smashed by a two by four instead of calmly released in the woods.

"MOHEGAN LAKE One Walmart shopper got a slithery surprise when a snake popped out of his shopping bag after leaving the store in Mohegan Lake on Friday night.

Greg Kane says he found the snake when he set the bag down on his counter at home. He says he killed the snake and took the remains back to Walmart to try and sort out where the snake came from. He even called police in to try and determine where the snake came from.

The snake was identified as a baby boa constrictor and while not poisonous can carry harmful bacteria in its mouth, according to a veterinarian.

Kane says he believes that this was a prank and that someone put the snake near all the shopping bags."

The snake crusher ludicrously assumed that a prankster placed the animal in the bag! I guess it never occurred to him that snakes can move by themselves. Instead of condemning this ignorant and unnecessary killing, a sensationalistic statement was made. Although it’s not poisonous the snake can still be very dangerous because just one bite from that baby boa could make you really sick."

KILL! Makes the NEWS. A baby boa? You decide.

The fault for the nature of this report seems to lie with ignorant veterinarian (!) and State Assemblyman Dr. Steven Katz, who made the crappy identification diagnosis along with the claim:

"The proteins in them can cause an allergic reaction that could potentially kill you also."

No, Steven. This snake doesn’t resemble a boa constrictor at all. It looks like a small colubrid snake that is highly likely to be a native animal. Also, a human probably has less of a chance of getting sick from a snake bite than a bite from a domesticated dog or cat (especially cats). This ‘veterinarian’ must have slept through the zoology portions of this training, because believe it or not, snakes do live in New York and most are harmless to humans (venomous snakes exist but are rare and endangered).

This story highlights the pressing need for families to attend nature centers and learn about local wildlife and how to live amongst it.

This animal, which is obviously a domesticated cat, was thought by some to possibly be a cougar. Whether or not a cougar is a juvenile, the differences between it and a regular cat should be obvious.

The takeaway message of this post is to never believe a news story’s claim about some exciting exotic animal sighting (or an animal rights group’s claim that evil exotic animal owners are setting them free) until there is absolute proof and confirmation of it. Here is another story of a false cougar sighting in Lyden, Washington, 2012.

You might now be wondering why people are so silly and ignorant. I’m aware that not everyone is animal obsessed such as I can considered to be, but Google is a wonderful tool that can cure ignorance in seconds. I utilize it frequently to avoid making catastrophically stupid errors like this in subjects that I do not have sophisticated knowledge in.

The animal in question was finally called out as a housecat in an updated report.

August 21st, 2013. England: Here’s another one!

"It obviously belongs to someone in a private collection."

Is this roaming feline a cat or a lynx??!! Inquiring minds need to know!

I imagine the reader must be face palming at this moment. At first, golfers must have been thinking ‘those pesky private owners can’t seem to keep their animals contained’, until the animal was identified by more intelligent people as a Main Coon, which is a slightly larger domesticated cat. Oh thank goodness, it’s only a cat. Let the disease spreading and predation toward wildlife continue! (Remember, this is England, and they frown upon keeping cats indoors).

November 6th, 2013: The Bengal cat breed is a cross between a cat and a LEOPARD?

Reporter: "It looks like a leopard, walks like a leopard, but it’s actually a house cat!"

Actually it doesn’t. At all. There are many things wrong with this silly report that was done on harmless ‘designer cat breeds’ last year (the video, not the article), but the first thing that made my mouth drop agape was the words out of the reporter’s mouth, that Bengal cats are a cross between a cat and an Asian leopard. The photo on the right is indeed the picture used during this statement, just in case it was an accidental lack of inclusion of the word ‘cat’ next to the ‘leopard’.

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