Cultural Trend Or Animal Cruelty?

June Stoyer

For those of you that think it is cool to have an exotic pet or even take one out of the wild and try to domesticate it, think again. There is a reason why animals exist in nature as they do and should be left alone. They are dangerous and will never be domesticated!

Lion in the wild

If this guy doesn't get fed, you just might be his dinner!

Last year, in Connecticut, a 200 lbs. chimpanzee named Travis, violently mauled a woman and had to be put down by police. The woman who was attacked will never be the same again. She has lost her eyesight and will remain disfigured, regardless of the countless procedures she endures. After all, he was an actual ‘trained monkey” that appeared in commercials for major brands such as Coke and Old Navy. He was even considered to be a celebrity, in his own right.

Apparently, his ‘’owner’’ Sandra Herold, age 70, of Stamford, treated this chimpanzee like a close friend. She would snuggle up with him, shower him, offer him treats of gourmet foods, let him sip wine from long stemmed glasses and even help him beat the blues by giving him some of her Xanax. Yes, she gave her chimpanzee Xanax. On NBC’s “Today” on Wednesday morning, February 18, 2009, a reporter asked, “How long was that before the attack that you gave him the Xanax?” Herold replied, “Five minutes, if that.”

However, she later claimed that she only gave it to him that morning and he ‘’didn’t even drink the whole cup.’’

Why this woman was allowed to treat an animal like a lover is beyond me. It is one thing to treat your pets to some healthy organic treats but another to go to this extreme. When she administered prescription drugs, she went too far. People that are not licensed physicians should not be giving any drugs to anyone for any reason. This is why they have licensed veterinarians for animals and doctors for humans. While Travis is a primate, he still is not human. Anyone who has ever taken an anti-depressant or known anyone who has knows that the verdict is still out on the long term effects. To knowingly administer these drugs to an animal should be deemed a criminal act.

Pet owners need to take more responsibility for their pets. You cannot play Dr. Dolittle when there is a serious problem. It is one thing to care for a cut, bruise or cold but another when you play therapist to your pet. Animals cannot be treated as human beings. If someone wants to have an exotic pet, they really need to understand the responsibility that comes with it.

Chimps are just one of many exotic animals that are highly sought after for man’s own vanity and pleasure. People fail to realize that these animals are not going to be able to survive on a box of pet food from the local store. They need the proper nutrition in order to remain healthy and disease free.

Laura Lassiter has spent her entire career working with exotic animals and fighting for the much needed legislation to prevent the in-humane treatment of these creatures, the euthanasia “option” that is due to lack of housing and the experimentation or disturbing cultural trends. Remember Michael Vicks? He was convicted of animal abuse but is only one of so many people that participate in barbaric games for money. Look at the running of the bulls in Spain? It still goes on and people still flock to see animals tortured.

Laura Lassiter

Laura Lassiter with "Cameron"

Laura is an expert on exotic animals and was very instrumental post Hurricane Katrina in her efforts. She is working with Big Cat Rescue. Her vision is to help raise the awareness of animals as sentient beings and establish An Animal’s Bill of Rights that will support the end of cruelty and abuse whether through animal experimentation, over population or cultural traditions.

To find out more information about Laura, please visit:

http://www.soul-be-it.com
http://twitter.com/lauralassiter
http://catheartwhispers.blogspot.com
https://www.youtube.com/Lauralassiter
http://bigcat.bigcatchat.com/lauralass
http://my.care2.com/lauralassiter

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1814538132
Resources:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/17/chimpanzee.attack/index.html

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvlkKth37Fp__GL6KYdl2b1s6dBgD96F58CG0

43 thoughts on “Cultural Trend Or Animal Cruelty?”

  1. Ah June! by my experience with rottweilers i an guess the risks to arise an exotic pet !
    My experience start with a very wild rottweiler which belongs to my brother a stared gain his trust little by little he was 3y old in six month we became real friends i am giving him even shower , but all the time i am very careful , Rottweilers are very moody my brother was bitten from him 3 times !!! but thanks god (Boston) & i understand each other :=)

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  3. I am always sad when people don’t leave the wild animals their space, be it in a Zoo, a circus or the adoption in a private home, these animals should be allowed their own natural habitat. Humans can be so selfish.
    Great post, thanks and wonderful work Laura!!

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  8. Thank you for this post June. Its just so very sad, I really do not understand us humans… I cant find words to express my great disappointment in our species regarding situations like this.

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  12. So many animals are put down, yet people still buy these wild animals. They need to change the laws! God Bless Laura!

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  16. Celebrities like Paris Hilton should be jailed for starting these stupid trends. What is wrong with them that they do this to animals? Animals are living beings, not pocketbooks!

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  17. Thank you for such a great article! Laura was an amazing person to have on your show. No one had any idea about all of those animals post Katrina. The media failed us again!

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  18. I’ve been following Laura on twitter 4 ever! It was great to put a voice to the face! Please have her back on!

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  25. Why would anyone take a wild animal and make it a pet? Do they have a death wish or are they just plain stupid. Look at that lion!

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  26. I can’t believe mainstream media didnt talk about all of the animals left behind post Hurricane Katrina. How shameful! Thank you for having Laura on as a guest. You have wonderfully written the post. Thanks for sharing this.

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  27. I’m a recent grad trying to learn more about the green industry and I really enjoyed this. It’s definitely worth sharing!

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  30. I can see that Laura is an expert in her field! It was great listening to her. Thanks for all your help and wishing you all the success.

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  35. I think it’s important here to define what we mean by “exotic pets”. You have a photo of a lion and a story about a chimp. To other people keeping a tortoise is exotic.

    I certainly think that many animals should be covered by legislation – the more dangerous and the more intelligent as examples although many of these *are* covered at least here in the UK.

    However for other animals, such as reptiles and amphibians, we have learned a huge amount about captive breeding and care – leading to successful breeding and reintroduction programs – as a result of the experiences of hobbyists so there is something to be said for that I believe.

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  36. exotic animals do cover a number of different kinds but if that guy was looking for pictures of everything, go to the discovery planet. otherwise, pretty good post id say, overall.

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