July 25, 2007

ISSUE: A South Florida man with a bad record seeks another annual exotic cat permit.

Three years after Bobo the Bengal tiger died in dramatic fashion, shot in his tracks by a state wildlife officer at the end of a massive manhunt, the Loxahatchee man who could not keep him properly caged still holds a permit to keep four other exotic cats in his care.

Steve Sipek's African lioness, black leopard and two Bengal tigers laze about his 5-acre compound in rural Palm Beach County, despite the federal government's documented conclusion that the animals are not well-cared for or sufficiently confined.

That's because the state doesn't seem to care.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the same agency forced to launch Bobo's costly manhunt, continues to award Sipek a commercial license to keep his animals. The permit comes with one confounding stipulation: that Sipek use them for commercial or education purposes - in other words, that he exhibit them to the public.

So a place the U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed unsanitary to the animals and vulnerable to escape - due to its lack of medical records and on-site veterinarian, its dangerous debris and weak points in the fencing, which was also a foot lower than minimum standards allow - is welcoming the public in for a closer look, essentially by state decree.

"We're not in it for the animal's health," a state wildlife investigator told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in explaining the absurd discrepancy between state and federal licensing guidelines. "If he wants to live in a trash pile, that's his issue."

It's also an issue for his neighbors, because unhealthy tigers can be unhappy tigers, and if they're not properly caged, they could be dangerous to the surrounding community, or to visitors. After all, Bobo's death isn't Sipek's first black mark. Two years earlier, the tiger mauled a woman helping to paint his cage.

Once again, it's time for Sipek to renew his state license. Wildlife officers should go the way of the USDA and deny the request, in everyone's best interests. Because private citizens who raise exotic animals as pets risk more lives than their own, and Sipek long ago ran out of chances.

BOTTOM LINE: Wild animals belong in the wild, or in a zoo, not in a residential community.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-editnbsipeknbjul25,0,5338734.story

Big Cats Do Not Make Good Pets

Turpentine Creek staff members have traveled to 17 different states rescuing big cats; lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, servals, bobcats, and lynx. Most of these precious animals would have been euthanized if not for Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

Frequently, young cubs of big cats are sold to people as pets; sold at auctions across the world; and sold by backyard breeders to unsuspecting buyers. A few short months pass and the new "pet owner" begins to realize they have made a mistake. They turn to newspapers, exotic trade magazines, zoos, and roadside parks to find the young cat a new home. These options don't materialize because of the age of the exotic cat and its inability to conform to the laws of the human race.

It is in the adolescent stage of development that the cub becomes strong and aggressive. The "pet owners" usually realize that they are in trouble when someone gets hurt or threatened. They become desperate as local citizens become discontent. Authorities often get involved and, before long, the innocent animal desperately needs a new home.

For 15 years, Turpentine Creek staff members have traveled the United States saving big cats. Every animal rescue is an animal saved. Their stories chisel the following statement deep into the heart's of the people who read them. Big Cats Do Not Make Pets.

The public needs to recognize just how large the problems are that are caused by the private exotic pet trade.  People buy exotic pets from unscrupulous breeders without considering all that goes with owning an exotic pet.  They just think about what a cute cuddly baby it is.  Later when the exotic pet is no longer a cute cuddly baby but a grown carnivore they end up dumping it on rescue / refuge facilities.  This a real problem because facilities turn away hundreds of these unwanted animals every single year. That number keeps growing by leaps and bounds every year. 

This IS a HUGE problem that is getting worse every year.

These facilities are ALL full the brim and running over.  They are all supported only by donations. These facilities run on shoe string budgets and they work themselves ragged trying to raise the funds to support the unwanted dumped exotic pets while the unscrupulous breeders get rich without obligation and without regard to what happens to these animals as they mature they just keep on breeding and selling to unqualified 'pet' owners. They continue creating more animals than the facilities will later be able to hold.

These breeders make their blood money and do NOTHING to help support these animals when the 'pet' owners they sold them too need a dumping ground...

Laws must change. The only way that will happen is if each and every one of you complain AND KEEP COMPLAINING.. about the exotic pet trade problem to your local, state and federal law makers.

Be a squeaky wheel demanding grease (action) Be Heard... Make yourself heard!!!

Visit "Tiger In My Backyard" to see what YOU can do to help change the laws. Also read about some horror stories of the exotic pet trade.

If you love exotic animals, I suggest you visit a rescue or refuge facility nearest to your home and offer to volunteer, buy a membership, sponsor an animal or do whatever you can to help in the effort to rescue these animals.  If you know of an unscrupulous breeder report them. Tell your local and state law makers that you do NOT approve of having an unscrupulous exotic 'pet' breeder in your area!! By doing that YOU can make a difference!!

http://reporter.911animalabuse.com/kickapps/_Tarzan-Steve-Sipek-Loxahatchee/photo/1080305/23072.html

That the Humane Society of the United States (HSU estimates that only 10% of the 10,000 tigers in the U.S. are in professionally regulated zoos and sanctuaries. Add to that more than 5000 cougars and assorted other big cats and you start to see the enormity of the problem.  Up to 10,000 tigers are kept as private pets, according to R. Eric Miller, senior vice president of zoological operations at the St. Louis Zoo.  By contrast, there are fewer than 400 tigers in American zoos, Miller said.

The U.S. State Department estimates that the market value of tiger parts at $7,000 for a set of bones.  Tiger and other illegal wildlife products have reached $10 billion a year and possibly twice that. China is the largest market, with the United States a close second. Newsweek 2/4/08

That there are only 23 facilities that are accredited by The Association of Sanctuaries even though there are thousands of places that claim to be animal refuges.

There are only 1200-2000 tigers left in the wild due primarily to habitat loss and hunting. According to the World Wildlife Fund the tiger population has declined by as much as 95% in the past hundred years.

Even though Florida has an outright ban on possessing tigers as personal pets, the state now has 1,455 tigers (according to the Palm Beach Post), a 50 percent increase in 15 months and second only to Texas in the nation. Florida also has 262 USDA exhibitors for big cats, more than any other state. There are more tiger breeders in Florida than anywhere else but there is no plan for reintroducing tigers back to the wild and none of the tigers bred by these backyard breeders are pure bloodlines that could ever be used in Species Survival Plans.

That just in the state of Florida there are 3,837 people with permits to own wild animals.  Of that number 389 facilities are permitted to own tigers, gorillas and other Class I & Class II dangerous animals, but only 21 are accredited zoos and only 3 are accredited as rescue facilies.  0.0002 of FL's populations owns exotic animals and yet all of us pay the price in safety and damage to the environment when no-longer-novel pets are turned loose.

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Exotic animals rarely bond with their owners. It's nothing personal. Would you know how to interact with a troop of monkeys, for example, if you had to live in the wild with them?! Unfortunately, exotic animals are more likely to bite, scratch, or sting. So, either these animals are kept in a cage their whole lives, or they could harm those who try to keep them.

IT'S BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Where do exotic animals come from? It is very hard to breed most exotic pets in captivity—one of the many telltale signs that even the experts don’t understand what these animals need. To meet the demands of those who actually want an exotic animal as a pet, dealers often have to take the animals from their native lands. This disrupts the environments they are stolen from, and can disrupt the environments they are taken to, if they escape or are set loose. In some cases, it is illegal to remove these critters from their homes. And even worse, some of the animals could be endangered or threatened species!

Most people who buy exotic animals have no idea what they’re getting into. Eventually, the owner may realize that it is simply impossible to meet the animal’s needs, and see how cruel it is to keep a wild animal captive. Even the most well-meaning person can become frustrated after trying to meet the high demands and special needs of a "pet" monkey for 30 years. But what can a person do? Most shelters aren’t equipped to handle exotic animals. Reputable zoos certainly won’t take them. Certainly the dealer won’t take the animal back! There are a few sanctuaries for exotic animals, but space is very limited.

There just aren’t many options. Some people will even set the animal loose. This is dangerous and illegal. The exotic animal can spread diseases to native species, and might kill native animals and legitimate pets. They might even attack people. Setting an exotic loose is also cruel to the animal, since they are not adapted to live there.

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