Did you know that there are 57 licensed bear breeders in Ohio alone? The availability of dangerous exotic animals in many states is mind-boggling.
The Humane Society of the United States named Ohio, Oklahoma, Nevada, North Carolina and Missouri as the top five states with the worst exotic pet state regulations. Due to the lack of laws prohibiting the ownership of non-native exotic animals, these states are responsible for much of the distribution of dangerous animals as pets in America. Exotic pet auctions are held yearly in Missouri and Ohio. People from all across the states meet there to buy and sell dangerous exotic animals - many of which should never be kept as pets.
The Mid Ohio Exotic Animal and Bird Sale advertises bears, lions, kangaroos, monkeys and many other animals for sale. These animals are completely legal to buy and sell in Ohio, and the auction is even governed by USDA officials. What many people don't understand is that their neighbor, in a quiet suburb, can legally own a lion, tiger, or bear (oh my!), or any other animal that is not native to Ohio. This bothers me. I don't want my neighbor's pet lion drooling over my dog, or worse yet, escaping and getting into my house and killing me. And this isn't an exaggeration. This scenario has happened, and will happen again because of a lack of laws.
Owners of these dangerous animals argue that their pets are just as loving and cuddly as your Golden Retriever, but unfortunately these exotic animals are still wild at heart, and cannot be trusted. Documented attacks by chimpanzees, bears, lions, venomous snakes and other dangerous animals kept as pets are found in all five aforementioned states. Many of these were attacks on the owners - the same owners who defended their loving and cuddly animals. I wonder how many of those owners (at least the ones who weren't killed) still have their dangerous animals. I'm guessing not many.
Laws preventing people from owning animals like bears and tigers keep both the people and the animals safe. It isn't fair for a tiger to be kept in someone's basement or be killed when it escapes. Nor is it fair for a person getting deli meat out of their fridge to be mauled by a bear that was kept in a neighbor's barn. Some animals are just better left in a zoo or the wild. But until more laws are created, I wouldn't be surprised to see my neighbor walking his pet bear down the street.
Photo © Flickr user Nature Snooper
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