Thursday, July 22, 2010

Think It Over: exotic pets.

I like to think that I'm pretty well acquainted with the rightful owner of vengeance. We talk on a regular basis, in fact. Being human, this does not prevent me from occasionally harboring hateful thoughts when I think someone's done something terrible.

Case in point, a local man who was delivering papers. On a rural route such as his, you have to be prepared to find just about anything in the road. The something he found a few days ago was enough to make him stop and turn around for a better look.

When the man approached, the creature in the road hissed menacingly. A call to animal control brought forth the news, "We don't deal with those; just let it go."

No way, said the paper carrier. Claiming concern for the safety of area residents, the man eventually beat the creature to death with a car jack and announced plans to display it as his "trophy".

This trohpy? A three-foot-long baby alligator.

A baby alligator who is currently being mourned by its owner, who was horrified to discover that his pet had escaped and been killed.

Had the story ended there, I would have planted my flag firmly behind the pet owner, aghast at such a display of animal cruelty. But wait, there's more! The owner of the baby alligator, who states that the creature was tame enough to carry around, is not distraught over the loss of a beloved pet.

He wants his money back.

Money that was "wasted" (his word) in caring for his alligator. An alligator that, once it reached full size, he planned to have stuffed and mounted on his wall.

To be honest, I'm disgusted with both of them, and I have to wonder about animal protection and exotic pet legislation that looks the other way when such things happen.

Exotic pets: where do you stand? Think it over.

2 comments:

  1. What a sad story! That poor animal. My first instinct is to say that, when we ask pet owners to license their animals, we're asking for the wrong half of the team to be licensed. My second thought is: Yeah, but not me,....

    Marian Allen

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  2. That is sad and pathetic! Animal cruelty by both parties.

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