RALEIGH -- An exotic animal ban in North Carolina is one step closer to reality.
Some local private zoo and sanctuary owners were in Raleigh Thursday fighting proposed senate legislation that would prohibit them from housing exotic animals like these.
Tregembo Zoo on Carolina Beach Road would be one business affected if the bill is passed.
Owners say they would be forced to shut down the zoo... And lose a lot of money in the process.
Sherry Tregembo said, "It'd be a huge loss. We're the biggest zoo for probably a couple hundred miles. We get hundreds of school kids in the spring and summer and then get summer camps. It's a huge loss."
New Hanover County already has regulations in place that prevents private homeowners from owning exotic animals.
If this bill is passed, regulations would go into effect statewide.
This is a just a dumb
This is a just a dumb bill.
If you want to keep a pet leopard WHO CARES??
Stupid people
Just think, the whole world can read these comments and see that this town is full of idiots. That crap hole on CB road is being called a zoo. If you want to see a zoo, go to the Asheboro zoo. That is a zoo. The Tregembo dump was deemed one of the worst in the country at one time. I am glad that someone remembered that poor elephant that had to live in that dump. I would not want my dogs to have to live the way those poor animals live there.
Visit a real zoo http://www.nczoo.org/
morons
They are not releasing the animals into the wild...duh, read. They may not breed them NOR replace them after they DIE in captivity. GREAT NEWS for all the beautiful animals still in the wild. Tregembo "ZOO" is a GD joke, its pathetic and I can not wait until it is closed.
Does anyone remember that POOR elephant on the road front rocking back and forth in the blazing sun for years???? Its cover was too small... It was frigging SICK.
The Exotice Pets Must Die!
That is all this bill is going to do. It makes sure that all the "exotic" pets in NC are killed off, and then there will not be anymore, giving the Asheboro Zoo a monopoly on the keeping of exotic animals.
This law will do nothing other than pump up the egos of the uneducated people that are pushing for it. Since their lives are so meaningless, they make it their job to control others. If you look at the people that wrote this bill (it wasn't a NC legislator), you will see that their main goal is to rid the planet of animals...PERIOD.
It is true, these animals don't belong on concrete all the time, just like horses, cattle, and even dogs need to be off concrete whenever they can be. However, animals like crocs and gators seem to do just fine when their water tanks are made of concrete. That's what the zoo has (go look). The polar bears at the zoo are kept on concrete formed in the shape of rocks, is that the wrong thing? The NC Zoo has no business keeping any Arctic animals, because after all, they are in NC, where it rarely snows, let alone gets below freezing for any real amount of time. Where are the complaints about that?
All this legislation does is set a death sentence for the animals listed. Whose business is it if someone like me keeps a Water Monitor (its name is Androgynous Pat)?
They need to repeal the "Attractive Nuisense" laws that allow people to trespass on private property without any fear of prosecution.
Is this America?
This is America where people are guaranteed the liberty to own property, including our animals. Benjamin Franklin said: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." Once we have destroyed the gifts of our Founding Fathers in the name of fear, they will be next to impossible to replace.
Exotic Animal Ban
These exotic animals are domestic raised in the US and NOT WILD anymore. They cannot be released into the wild. If they were, they would not be able to survive on their own. Not only do they not have the skills, they have very little habitat left and that habitat contains poachers who want their skins and bones.
Appropriately caged and housed exotics are NOT a threat to anyone. Not only that, those who are breeding these animals are keeping the species numbers up. Why cannot a private citizen who provides proper welfare and care keep exotic animals? Is this still the USA or have we morphed into some fascist country where governments want to control us totally?
What about private property rights? When a state bans ownership and people own these animals, the state is taking away their property! Is the state going to REIMBURSE these folks for their animals? When the state takes your land...you are reimbursed.
This kind of legislation is a knee jerk response to the occasional accident that an owner or keeper has with an animal. It isn't as if we are all going to be attacked by black panthers or raging chimpanzees! You are far more likely to be struck by lightening!
Big Cat Rescue-excerpt of newsletter promoting exotics as pets
IF YOU ARE WILD ABOUT CATS check out Wildlife On Easy Street at their new address: http://www.wildlife-easyst.com. Meet our 100+ wildcats, join our membership or volunteer program and learn about exotic cats and more. To help fund this much needed Sanctuary we offer the video "Big Cat Companions" $28.00, the book "Exotic Cats As Housepets" $35.00, Bed & Breakfast at the refuge in Tampa, FL $75.00 per night, and these special cats to the right person: Serval trio or caracal trio, proven $5000, cougar pair $600, cub $450 and 3/4 wild but 100% tame! Bengal F1 male kittens. Sire: Amurian Leopard Cat and Dam: F1 Bengal, raised in the house and too gorgeous for words $1000. 12802 Easy St., Tampa, FL 33625. 813-
New Cat Video! Big Cat Companions is an informative and entertaining two-hour tape from the same people who brought you "Exotic Cats As Housepets." More information on the most frequently asked questions such as caging, teaching not to bite, leash training, diet and health care for tigers, leopards, cougars, lynxes, bobcats and more. (13 species) How to get the most enjoyment out of your feline
EXOTIC CATS AS HOUSE PETS VIDEO! Two hour tape depicting the trials and rewards of sharing our home with Bobcats, Servals, Caracals, Cougars, Ocelots, Margay, Canadian and European Lynx, and more (14 species). Learn bottle-feeding, litter training, bathing, leashing and how to raise an exotic cat into a loving and trusting house pet. Great tips on out door cage construction, play yards, feeding, worming and vaccinating. $28 12802 Easy Street, Tampa, Florida 33625. 813-626- 9155 FL
exotic animal ban
The bill provides exemption for sanctuaries without breeding programs. None of the animals pictured in the video clips appear to be in a natural sanctuary. Most were pacing on concrete. That is not natural. I am sure the animals are loved and cared for in a kind manner. However, they do not appear to be enjoying their own existence.
From the News & Observer -- http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/620967.html
"Unveiled during a state Senate hearing Thursday, the revised bill would ban the private ownership of wolves, lions, tigers, bears, apes, monkeys and five other types of animals deemed "inherently dangerous."
Exemptions to the ban would include circuses, university research labs, sanctuaries without breeding programs and zoos accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, a nonprofit standards organization whose members include the N.C. Zoological Park in Asheboro."
Who is goimg to make the
Who is goimg to make the call about what animal are "inherently dangerous" this could include some breeds of dogs and cats
Captivity is cruel and dangerous
The link below shows a partial listing (811) of incidents involving captive big cats since 1990. These incidents have resulted in the killing or deaths of 236 big cats, 74 human deaths, more than 253 human maulings, 214 exotic cat escapes and 366 confiscations.
bigcatrescue.org/big_cat_news.htm
Exotic Animals
It is about time someone realized that what they do is cruel! Wild and exotic animals need to stay in the wild. It is unfair and inhumane to use them as entertainment.
The Wild
And where exactly is the Wild anymore?
Brunswick County = The Wild
Brunswick County = The Wild
The Truth About Captive Animals
They were not BORN in the wild, they were born here in the states. To send them out into the wild, would be a death sentence. They have lost that natural instinct to hunt and to stay away from predators, that are taught them by their parents. Do you want to be the cause of their death?
They have become reliant on humans to nurture them, to feed them, to take care of them. Have you ever seen a wild cat open a can of food, have you ever seen a wild cat go to the vet in their natural habitat? Captive bred animals live longer, because they are cared for. I thought you would have realized that.
Don't pass a death sentence on these animals
I agree with the comments "The Truth about Captive Animals"..You cannot return them to the wild they would not survive. I do believe in sanctuaries and private ownership. I know many people in both types of situations that treat there animals very well. They are happy, have large enclosures and healthy. It is also true they do live longer because of regular feeding and vitamins and vet care. What I don't understand is why people are against this but NC Senate says circuses in my opinion who are notorious for abusing animals and univerity research labs which are worst people who could own them. What is wrong with this picture? I don't believe any animal should have to suffer in a circus but most of all not as a research animal. How would you like to be a speciman in a research lab?
Also, if you ban the ownership of certain exotic animals and the owners are not a sanctuary where will these animals go???? YOU ARE SIGNING THIER DEATH WARRANT.
I believe people like Carole Lewis Baskin of Big Cat Rescue who claims captivity is cruel and dangerous even though she owns roughly 142 exotic cats (she keeps changing the number of big cats she has) and is located in a heavily populated area is not someone who should be looking to ban the ownership of exotic animals. As for her list go to her website and you will see all these so called maulings and killings are from all over the world and not all are real maulings unless a scratch is a mauling. She must spend hours on the computer looking for them. One on her list was a wild lion who mauled a man in the 1800's. I would not take what she says seriously. The truth is more people have been killed by horses than exotic animals. Are you going to ban them, too? In fact in the US in the past 10 years the average is that 1 person has been killed per year by an exotic cat and that person was usually a owner or handler who assumed the responsiblity that the animal may harm them. Dogs have also killed people will they be next? PETA thinks they should be.
The truth is thst the animal rights activists who have been using MS Carole Lewis Baskin as a speaker keep pushing for the banning of exotic animals. They spend alot of money on this. Some groups are PETA, IFAW and others. If someone gets hurt by an exotic cat it's on the front page for days and if someone gets killed by a dog it's on the 3rd or 4th page in a small article for one day. They are working on trying to ban the private ownership of all exotic animals and to me their cause is a cover up. They get alot of donations but for years they have done nothing to help the animals in the wild so isn't it easier to go after private owners of exotic animals. Don't fall for there lies.
I beg you to think of the animals first if this ban goes through what will happen to them? You hold their future in your hands. I can tell you this they maybe sold to canned hunts, research labs or euthanized if no one wants them. It won't be a happy ending.
Caged, concrete - you try it.
Okay, so captive animals can't go into the "wild" but it's inhumane that some live on concrete in cages that are too small. Some of the animals never get to experience God-given sunshine on their backs or rolling in the grass.
WE're making them dependent on us...
however much you would like to think that these animals have to go to vets or have to open a can of food, they're not the same as us humans. they have their own way of life, and that's why they have to be in the wild. it's not right that they have to be dependent on us. we can help protect them, and help them go on with their lives, but it is not right that every step of their lives has to be under our command. it's just like watching your children grow; you let them go out into the world shaping their own lives while we stay at a distance and give them the guidance they need to choose the right path. animals have to stand on their own, too. and they were made to conquer the wild. so why keep them in cages when they have their own wilde free world out there?
exotic animals
AMEN! These animals belong in the wild not in concrete OR "natural" enclosures.
I agree
! Insert sarcasm here!
Yeah, I agree all of those endangered species in captivity that represent the last of their kind should be released into the wild so poachers and lions can have a meal. I mean its cruel right?
! End sarcasm !
Think
Think of that the next time you eat meat! I bet you're a McMeat eating hypocrit!