The internet is chalked full of cute animal videos. Recently, more and more exotic animals are becoming the adorable stars of these videos. But is it all really just fun and games, or is there more to it that just that? As it turns out, the animals in these videos endure a far more arduous and dangerous journey than we think. The truth of the matter is that most of society is unaware of the grievances these beautiful animals endure before they appear in these internet videos that have taken the world by storm.
It does not stop there however, as for many of these animals, the suffering isn't over at this point. Many are left cold, alone and hurt even after they have been bought or sold. For many of these animals, the emotional and psychological damage is just as severe as their physical wounds. The truth that lies behind the exotic pet trade and the harm it brings not only to the animals involved but also the ecosystem in which they are being removed from must be made public. If the world knew the truth, society would cringe at the images depicted.
It is a heart-breaking actuality that must be faced for the sake of saving these extraordinary animals that have made it into our hearts and home in the worst of ways. Only by doing so we open ourselves up to change and change is truly what we need. To save these animals, we the first step is to acknowledge the atrocities they face and the next is to take action against those contributing towards these atrocities. This however will not be easy as is explained later on in this essay.
The animals involved in the exotic pet trade are, for starters, usually sourced in especially horrific ways. What normally happens is that groups of these poachers and hunters trek through the forest, leaving behind them a trail of destruction. Trees, branches and vines are cut down to make a path for all the men and their equipment. What we do not realized is that before any animal has even been taken, the people hunting for them have already made an effect on the ecosystem. Smaller animals and primates use these intricate to move around between trees and to travel through the forest in search of food. This immensely effects the way these animals would hunt and it may even separate animals from their group which would have a devastating effect on those animals.
The next travesty is when these animals are removed from their environment. The animals in an ecosystem all play important roles in sustaining that fragile balance in the environment. It also affects how the animals that were removed develop and the animals left behind in their group. Infants are left without their mothers and mothers without their kin. This is especially devastating to primates. Primates are highly social animals and have intricate social groups. Infants rely heavily on their mothers for care and knowledge. The idea of natural instinct being the driving force for these animals has never been more wrong.
As it turns out, primates and most other mammals need strong reinforcement from their mothers when young. Even after 6 years, some chimps still need their mothers to teach them certain things like caring for offspring. These animals thrive off one another, they care and are cared for by the members of their group. Often times some of the animals in the group are killed in the process as they may attack the hunters attempting to protect those in their group. The first to do so is the alpha male of the group and the killing of the alpha male, though not detrimental, will still have a tragic effect on that primate group. The animals in that group rely on their alpha for safety and protection. Killing the alpha will leave the group vulnerable to attacks from other groups.
In the late 1950s, psychologist Harry Harlow conducted social and developmental studies on rhesus macaques in hopes of learning more about social and cognitive development. In one of his more famous experiments, he made two puppet figures, one that was soft and had a heating pad to keep it comfortably warm. The other was made with wire and was cold and essentially, uncomfortable or 'unloving'. The soft figure was always warm and 'loving' whereas the other, though uncomfortable, always had food. The experiment had a surprising conclusion. The infant macaque chose to sleep and stay with the soft 'loving' figure even though it there was never any food with it and the other always did. Even when the infant had not eaten in days, it still chose the soft, warm bodied figure over the cold, food giving figure. This proves how heavily these animals rely on their mothers and how important that mother-infant connection is (Harlow pg. 68, 70, 72-74).
Without these familial connections and parental bonds, these animal do not learn how to socialize and communicate with others of their species. They usually turn to stereotypy, which refers to repetitive behaviours such as reduced reproductive success and self-mutilation and harm. Captive primates that are mentally under-stimulated have been known to excessively groom themselves to the point they have bare patches and to even bite off some of their own digits. These behaviours are known to occur in zoos where the animals are well cared for thus one could only imagine what they do when in poor conditions are poorly cared for.
That leads to the next point, the animals are not cared for during this ordeal. They are snared, trapped and captured using a multitude of means and often times the animals end up hurt in the process. It is easy to break or dislocate one's leg when a wire wraps around one's foot and yanks you up off the ground. Even when using tranquilizer darts, the animals still fall from reasonably high places as they would be hiding up in trees if they are capable of that.
It doesn't just stop there either, these hunters and capturers pay little to no attention at all in respects to the animal's specific needs. For example, in more rural areas and third world countries these animals can be seen for up for sale at open air markets. These markets operate during the day and these animals are forced to sit out in their cages that are much too small for them in the first place. This means that more often than not, that nocturnal animals are left out in the open during daylight. This is a fundamental and crucial part of the way these animals behave yet they are being forced to live and be awake in the daytime. These animals all have very specialized gastrointestinal tracts as well and require specific forms of nutrition to be healthy. This crucial detail is not only often over looked by the seller but also by the buyer once the animal is back in their homes.
These animals are also often injured during the whole process, from capture to sale, and even during ownership, these animals are often abused and harmed even if that was not the intent. Going back to the previous example, these animals are kept in small cages out in the open in environments that they are not use to nor comfortable with. When certain animals, such as the Loris, feels afraid or in danger, they usually tend to hold on to things very tightly. Thusly, they tend to hold on to the bars of their cages very tightly, and though they are incredibly small, Loris' have unimaginable gripping power. When the handler goes to remove the animal from its cage, the animal would then promptly hold on to the bars of the cage as strongly as they could. These handlers then have a tough time removing them from their cages and more often than not resort to forcefully yanking these animals out of their cage, leaving them with broken bones and cuts on their hands and feet. Not only that, these injuries are never taken care of and medical attention is almost never received by these injured animals.
The animals taken are kept in cages much too small for them. For example, it is legal by law to keep chimpanzee in cages no more the 5 feet by 5 feet by 7 feet high. These animals are kept in these cages indefinitely as well; many never see the outside of their metal box even after being sold. That is the equivalent of a fully grown man living his whole life, or at least most of it, in a cage that is 7 feet by 7 feet by 11 feet high. If one were to do that to a person, they would violate countless human right laws but yet it is completely legal to do so to our closest living relatives. These animals are incredibly intelligent, they learn, understand and they can feel compassion and empathy. They are more like us than we realize yet they are treated atrociously. The cages they aren't clean either, often times these cages are just littered with trash and never cleaned. It is not surprising, if they are willing to steal these animals and trade them as though they were simply hunks of meat, then why would they care about the animals' comfort?
Quite regularly, the animals trapped in these cages contract diseases and often develop open sores on their hand and feet which always become infected. When these cages do get 'cleaned' the handler simply hoses out the cage, usually with the animal still in them. These animals are left wet and cold, laying or standing in the stagnant water that now covers the floor of their cage. Having your skin or feet soaked for long periods of time is in no way whatsoever a good thing. Trench foot is a very real thing that happens to people even when they take precautions against it. These animals have no choice but to stand in the water with no way to avoid it. With trench foot, infections are imminent especially when combined with the filthy conditions in their cages.
These animals that are bought become stars of cute videos all over the internet but is that 30 seconds of fame worth the pain the endure? A lot of people buy these animals for their cute appearances, without knowing much about the animals themselves. Often times as well, the handlers selling these animals aren't completely sure on what exact animal it is that they have. The people buying these animals are usually in no way prepared for the animal they have coming to them. These animals require specific diets and living arrangements, two vital things that are always the most regularly overlooked. There are videos of these animals eating cake, ice cream and candy among many other things that are obviously not part of their natural diet. Not only that, the foods they are being fed is junk food, things that are already unhealthy for our adapted gut system. In what world would these wild animals be eating candy?
These animals are bought when they are still young by those looking for a cute exotic companion. At this stage of their development, they are still small and manageable. But these animals grow and mature. Some get incredibly big as well. People own tigers and other big cats that though are small and adorable when cubs, grow into 500+lbs beasts with a temper. It only takes one mistake to have this animal go from chained in the corner to pinning you down with their mighty paws. A single swipe from a tiger's paw is strong enough to crush a bear's skull, one can only imagine what they could do to a human (Jennings pg. 1).
Even with primates, a chimpanzee may seem like a docile house pet but they are still wild animals that can become incredibly aggressive, especially when they transition from juvenile to mature adult. Chimpanzees are immensely strong, in fact there was a test conducted in which a chimpanzee was pitted against a South Dakota college football team. In the test, individuals in the team were ask to pull a weight, first with one hand and then with both. None of the students were able to break 500lbs with both hands only 1 person on the whole team was able to break 200lbs using only one arm. On the other hand, one chimp managed to pull 1,260lbs. The test was then to the largest captive chimpanzee at the time, 1926, and she pulled a beastly 847lbs with just one hand (Bauman pg. 10). A chimpanzee can easy inflict some ungodly damage to whomever they decide deserves to be attacked. In 2009, a chimpanzee named Travis made worldwide news for attacking his owners friend, Charla Nash. In the attack, the chimp blinded her while severing her ears, nose both hands as well as severely lacerating her face. This just one example of the immense strength these animals have. Another reason why these animals should not be kept as pets. Travis was shot and killed on site for the attack, whilst in reality he was behaving as he was, a wild animal. (WWGB)
These cute little animals grow into these large unruly beasts that are now too big and too dangerous to be kept in one's house safely. They end up at road side zoos or worse, chained up in their owners' backyard. It is not these majestic animals' fault, they are large, wild animals that no matter how hard one tries, will never be domesticated. They may be timid and nice at first but there is way of know when, where or even if they will attack, though it is very likely that they will. However, because of people finding them adorable, they are forced to live their lives in pain, fear, and loneliness.
Many of those buying these animals don't know of the travesties they face before they arrive and the pain and suffering many endure even after sale. If there was more education on the seedy exotic pet trade, far fewer people would opt to buy these beautiful yet sometimes dangerous and even endangered animals. The number one solution to the problem truly is education. If the population is educated on the harm it causes, not only will people feel deterred from buying them, but there will also be more people out there fighting for these animals and their freedom.
The next best thing that could be done to try and save these majestic creatures from this ill fate is to implement and enforce stricter laws regulating the trade of such animals both in and out of the United States. This in an international predicament, it affects and is present worldwide. The problem with doing this is that laws and regulations cannot just be made up. It takes time and consideration for these implementations to be even considered, let alone enforced. It would need to be reviewed and if anyone says no, the reviewing process starts over as edits are made to it, usually taking years before the law would be passed. That is, if no one continues to reject the passing of the law.
It also causes problems in the countries where these animals are taken from. Though it wreaks havoc on the ecosystem, throwing it out of balance and destroying the local wildlife and fauna, it does have value to that country. When these poachers go out and hunt and capture these animals, they are often sold for large amounts of money. In fact, the exotic pet trade is an incredibly lucrative business. Globally, the exotic animal trade is a ten to twenty-billion-dollar industry (Animal Issues Vol 32).
For poorer countries, such as Africa and parts of Asia, many people see this as a viable income option, especially when they themselves have families and mouths they need to feed. For these people, if their ability to hunt and sell these animals is hindered, there would be a devastating effect on their lives. It is a stable good form of income for the people as well as the country and if taken away could be devastating for their economy. One policy that may work however, without effecting the economy of those countries or the people whom need this to survive. By increasing the funding for wildlife officers and game wardens so they would have sufficient personnel and equipment to deal with these hunters. This coupled with increasing the stringency and setting certain quotas in which these animals can be hunted will also greatly reduce the environmental strain current methods have.
Though it does not save the animals being caught from what can only be describe as grieves acts, it limits the number of animals this happens to as well as stops the hunting of endangered and near endangered species. By doing so, the locals still have a means to their income, most likely increasing their profits in the process as well. At the same time in protects more of these majestic animals from becoming trapped in cages and chained in backyards.
I feel the paper is ok, it just need a little flushing out and editing. I had difficulty at the end of my essay trying to tie in solutions and my conclusion and I also feel I was a little repetitive.I would like some feedback please
It does not stop there however, as for many of these animals, the suffering isn't over at this point. Many are left cold, alone and hurt even after they have been bought or sold. For many of these animals, the emotional and psychological damage is just as severe as their physical wounds. The truth that lies behind the exotic pet trade and the harm it brings not only to the animals involved but also the ecosystem in which they are being removed from must be made public. If the world knew the truth, society would cringe at the images depicted.
It is a heart-breaking actuality that must be faced for the sake of saving these extraordinary animals that have made it into our hearts and home in the worst of ways. Only by doing so we open ourselves up to change and change is truly what we need. To save these animals, we the first step is to acknowledge the atrocities they face and the next is to take action against those contributing towards these atrocities. This however will not be easy as is explained later on in this essay.
The animals involved in the exotic pet trade are, for starters, usually sourced in especially horrific ways. What normally happens is that groups of these poachers and hunters trek through the forest, leaving behind them a trail of destruction. Trees, branches and vines are cut down to make a path for all the men and their equipment. What we do not realized is that before any animal has even been taken, the people hunting for them have already made an effect on the ecosystem. Smaller animals and primates use these intricate to move around between trees and to travel through the forest in search of food. This immensely effects the way these animals would hunt and it may even separate animals from their group which would have a devastating effect on those animals.
The next travesty is when these animals are removed from their environment. The animals in an ecosystem all play important roles in sustaining that fragile balance in the environment. It also affects how the animals that were removed develop and the animals left behind in their group. Infants are left without their mothers and mothers without their kin. This is especially devastating to primates. Primates are highly social animals and have intricate social groups. Infants rely heavily on their mothers for care and knowledge. The idea of natural instinct being the driving force for these animals has never been more wrong.
As it turns out, primates and most other mammals need strong reinforcement from their mothers when young. Even after 6 years, some chimps still need their mothers to teach them certain things like caring for offspring. These animals thrive off one another, they care and are cared for by the members of their group. Often times some of the animals in the group are killed in the process as they may attack the hunters attempting to protect those in their group. The first to do so is the alpha male of the group and the killing of the alpha male, though not detrimental, will still have a tragic effect on that primate group. The animals in that group rely on their alpha for safety and protection. Killing the alpha will leave the group vulnerable to attacks from other groups.
In the late 1950s, psychologist Harry Harlow conducted social and developmental studies on rhesus macaques in hopes of learning more about social and cognitive development. In one of his more famous experiments, he made two puppet figures, one that was soft and had a heating pad to keep it comfortably warm. The other was made with wire and was cold and essentially, uncomfortable or 'unloving'. The soft figure was always warm and 'loving' whereas the other, though uncomfortable, always had food. The experiment had a surprising conclusion. The infant macaque chose to sleep and stay with the soft 'loving' figure even though it there was never any food with it and the other always did. Even when the infant had not eaten in days, it still chose the soft, warm bodied figure over the cold, food giving figure. This proves how heavily these animals rely on their mothers and how important that mother-infant connection is (Harlow pg. 68, 70, 72-74).
Without these familial connections and parental bonds, these animal do not learn how to socialize and communicate with others of their species. They usually turn to stereotypy, which refers to repetitive behaviours such as reduced reproductive success and self-mutilation and harm. Captive primates that are mentally under-stimulated have been known to excessively groom themselves to the point they have bare patches and to even bite off some of their own digits. These behaviours are known to occur in zoos where the animals are well cared for thus one could only imagine what they do when in poor conditions are poorly cared for.
That leads to the next point, the animals are not cared for during this ordeal. They are snared, trapped and captured using a multitude of means and often times the animals end up hurt in the process. It is easy to break or dislocate one's leg when a wire wraps around one's foot and yanks you up off the ground. Even when using tranquilizer darts, the animals still fall from reasonably high places as they would be hiding up in trees if they are capable of that.
It doesn't just stop there either, these hunters and capturers pay little to no attention at all in respects to the animal's specific needs. For example, in more rural areas and third world countries these animals can be seen for up for sale at open air markets. These markets operate during the day and these animals are forced to sit out in their cages that are much too small for them in the first place. This means that more often than not, that nocturnal animals are left out in the open during daylight. This is a fundamental and crucial part of the way these animals behave yet they are being forced to live and be awake in the daytime. These animals all have very specialized gastrointestinal tracts as well and require specific forms of nutrition to be healthy. This crucial detail is not only often over looked by the seller but also by the buyer once the animal is back in their homes.
These animals are also often injured during the whole process, from capture to sale, and even during ownership, these animals are often abused and harmed even if that was not the intent. Going back to the previous example, these animals are kept in small cages out in the open in environments that they are not use to nor comfortable with. When certain animals, such as the Loris, feels afraid or in danger, they usually tend to hold on to things very tightly. Thusly, they tend to hold on to the bars of their cages very tightly, and though they are incredibly small, Loris' have unimaginable gripping power. When the handler goes to remove the animal from its cage, the animal would then promptly hold on to the bars of the cage as strongly as they could. These handlers then have a tough time removing them from their cages and more often than not resort to forcefully yanking these animals out of their cage, leaving them with broken bones and cuts on their hands and feet. Not only that, these injuries are never taken care of and medical attention is almost never received by these injured animals.
The animals taken are kept in cages much too small for them. For example, it is legal by law to keep chimpanzee in cages no more the 5 feet by 5 feet by 7 feet high. These animals are kept in these cages indefinitely as well; many never see the outside of their metal box even after being sold. That is the equivalent of a fully grown man living his whole life, or at least most of it, in a cage that is 7 feet by 7 feet by 11 feet high. If one were to do that to a person, they would violate countless human right laws but yet it is completely legal to do so to our closest living relatives. These animals are incredibly intelligent, they learn, understand and they can feel compassion and empathy. They are more like us than we realize yet they are treated atrociously. The cages they aren't clean either, often times these cages are just littered with trash and never cleaned. It is not surprising, if they are willing to steal these animals and trade them as though they were simply hunks of meat, then why would they care about the animals' comfort?
Quite regularly, the animals trapped in these cages contract diseases and often develop open sores on their hand and feet which always become infected. When these cages do get 'cleaned' the handler simply hoses out the cage, usually with the animal still in them. These animals are left wet and cold, laying or standing in the stagnant water that now covers the floor of their cage. Having your skin or feet soaked for long periods of time is in no way whatsoever a good thing. Trench foot is a very real thing that happens to people even when they take precautions against it. These animals have no choice but to stand in the water with no way to avoid it. With trench foot, infections are imminent especially when combined with the filthy conditions in their cages.
These animals that are bought become stars of cute videos all over the internet but is that 30 seconds of fame worth the pain the endure? A lot of people buy these animals for their cute appearances, without knowing much about the animals themselves. Often times as well, the handlers selling these animals aren't completely sure on what exact animal it is that they have. The people buying these animals are usually in no way prepared for the animal they have coming to them. These animals require specific diets and living arrangements, two vital things that are always the most regularly overlooked. There are videos of these animals eating cake, ice cream and candy among many other things that are obviously not part of their natural diet. Not only that, the foods they are being fed is junk food, things that are already unhealthy for our adapted gut system. In what world would these wild animals be eating candy?
These animals are bought when they are still young by those looking for a cute exotic companion. At this stage of their development, they are still small and manageable. But these animals grow and mature. Some get incredibly big as well. People own tigers and other big cats that though are small and adorable when cubs, grow into 500+lbs beasts with a temper. It only takes one mistake to have this animal go from chained in the corner to pinning you down with their mighty paws. A single swipe from a tiger's paw is strong enough to crush a bear's skull, one can only imagine what they could do to a human (Jennings pg. 1).
Even with primates, a chimpanzee may seem like a docile house pet but they are still wild animals that can become incredibly aggressive, especially when they transition from juvenile to mature adult. Chimpanzees are immensely strong, in fact there was a test conducted in which a chimpanzee was pitted against a South Dakota college football team. In the test, individuals in the team were ask to pull a weight, first with one hand and then with both. None of the students were able to break 500lbs with both hands only 1 person on the whole team was able to break 200lbs using only one arm. On the other hand, one chimp managed to pull 1,260lbs. The test was then to the largest captive chimpanzee at the time, 1926, and she pulled a beastly 847lbs with just one hand (Bauman pg. 10). A chimpanzee can easy inflict some ungodly damage to whomever they decide deserves to be attacked. In 2009, a chimpanzee named Travis made worldwide news for attacking his owners friend, Charla Nash. In the attack, the chimp blinded her while severing her ears, nose both hands as well as severely lacerating her face. This just one example of the immense strength these animals have. Another reason why these animals should not be kept as pets. Travis was shot and killed on site for the attack, whilst in reality he was behaving as he was, a wild animal. (WWGB)
These cute little animals grow into these large unruly beasts that are now too big and too dangerous to be kept in one's house safely. They end up at road side zoos or worse, chained up in their owners' backyard. It is not these majestic animals' fault, they are large, wild animals that no matter how hard one tries, will never be domesticated. They may be timid and nice at first but there is way of know when, where or even if they will attack, though it is very likely that they will. However, because of people finding them adorable, they are forced to live their lives in pain, fear, and loneliness.
Many of those buying these animals don't know of the travesties they face before they arrive and the pain and suffering many endure even after sale. If there was more education on the seedy exotic pet trade, far fewer people would opt to buy these beautiful yet sometimes dangerous and even endangered animals. The number one solution to the problem truly is education. If the population is educated on the harm it causes, not only will people feel deterred from buying them, but there will also be more people out there fighting for these animals and their freedom.
The next best thing that could be done to try and save these majestic creatures from this ill fate is to implement and enforce stricter laws regulating the trade of such animals both in and out of the United States. This in an international predicament, it affects and is present worldwide. The problem with doing this is that laws and regulations cannot just be made up. It takes time and consideration for these implementations to be even considered, let alone enforced. It would need to be reviewed and if anyone says no, the reviewing process starts over as edits are made to it, usually taking years before the law would be passed. That is, if no one continues to reject the passing of the law.
It also causes problems in the countries where these animals are taken from. Though it wreaks havoc on the ecosystem, throwing it out of balance and destroying the local wildlife and fauna, it does have value to that country. When these poachers go out and hunt and capture these animals, they are often sold for large amounts of money. In fact, the exotic pet trade is an incredibly lucrative business. Globally, the exotic animal trade is a ten to twenty-billion-dollar industry (Animal Issues Vol 32).
For poorer countries, such as Africa and parts of Asia, many people see this as a viable income option, especially when they themselves have families and mouths they need to feed. For these people, if their ability to hunt and sell these animals is hindered, there would be a devastating effect on their lives. It is a stable good form of income for the people as well as the country and if taken away could be devastating for their economy. One policy that may work however, without effecting the economy of those countries or the people whom need this to survive. By increasing the funding for wildlife officers and game wardens so they would have sufficient personnel and equipment to deal with these hunters. This coupled with increasing the stringency and setting certain quotas in which these animals can be hunted will also greatly reduce the environmental strain current methods have.
Though it does not save the animals being caught from what can only be describe as grieves acts, it limits the number of animals this happens to as well as stops the hunting of endangered and near endangered species. By doing so, the locals still have a means to their income, most likely increasing their profits in the process as well. At the same time in protects more of these majestic animals from becoming trapped in cages and chained in backyards.
I feel the paper is ok, it just need a little flushing out and editing. I had difficulty at the end of my essay trying to tie in solutions and my conclusion and I also feel I was a little repetitive.I would like some feedback please