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Thursday, February 12, 2004
Wild animal ban right step for state
Lions and tigers and bears mix poorly, even dangerously with people. The Legislature should recognize reality and ban ownership of many wild animals.
The risks to humans -- the public and owners -- are considerable. No matter what precautions are taken, these animals can be trusted to be themselves: wild.
Las Vegas star Roy Horn, with decades of experience with big cats, nearly died when a tiger attacked him. A pet tiger killed a child recently in North Carolina, where another tiger also injured a child. On Monday, a pet leopard clamped its jaws around its owner's head, letting go only after being shot twice. The Louisiana woman was hospitalized in fair condition.
Even when animals don't attack people, the infections they carry can. Monkeys occasionally spread herpes B, which can cause grave complications in humans.
Lawmakers have made considerable progress on House Bill 1151, which would ban ownership of many wild animals. They've pared the list, eliminating lynx, bobcats and servals. Their owners would have five years to find alternate living arrangements for them.
That's acceptable, with the understanding that further extensions may be needed to avoid euthanization or separation of animals from good homes. A better plan would be a registration system, allowing current pets to be kept indefinitely, as the bill's key supporter, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, first envisioned.
Keeping exotic animals in unnatural conditions in homes and enclosures can be uncomfortable for these "pets" and life threatening for people.
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