talkmagic.co.uk

I was recently browsing a website called Preloved (a type of classified site for second hand goods). I was looking for a vivarium for a new pet and I spotted what I found to be a disturbing trend.

There are literally hundreds of wanted adverts for FREE exotic pets of every description. Most of them for animals that are expensive, difficult to care for or potentially dangerous!

There seem to be any number of excuses for the 'FREE' criteria:

A) 'I cant afford to buy it'
Well if you cant afford to save up and buy it, how will you afford a cage/food/companions/toys ect for it. If you really wanted it, you would save, even if it was only £1 a week.

B) 'The kids want it '(sometimes the child in question is mentioned as being autistic or disabled)
Well kids can't have everything they'd like, just like everybody else. Also entrusting the care of an animal (solely in some cases) to a child has often worked out to be a bad idea

C) 'Its a present for somebody'
Havent you ever heard of the 'a dog is for life, not just for christmas adverts'. Plus, If that person really means a lot to you, surely they are worth saving up and spending some money on?

D) 'Animal sanctuaries rehome them, but I will keep it forever'
I WANT I WANT I WANT


To REALLY take the biscuit I saw:

wanting to adopt a pair of hyasinth mcaw parrots for free

These birds are the largest species of parrot in the world and so are one of the most expensive (and endangered!). These birds can cost a whopping £10,000 EACH!!!!!!! I wish someone would give ME a couple of these beautiful birds!!! This person actually wants these birds so badly, they actually managed to SPELL THE NAME OF THE SPECIES WRONG!!! So they've REALLY done their homework (sic)

I think this culture of 'something for nothing' is going completely crazy. Peaople are thinking WANT qualifies them for some sort of entitlement. When its living creatures we are talking about here, it has really got my back up. Like with the question of piracy in magic - if somebody gets something for nothing , do they really appreciate it or even pay attention to it??

nevermind

lozey wrote:These birds are the largest species of parrot in the world and so are one of the most expensive (and endangered!). These birds can cost a whopping £10,000 EACH!!!!!!! I wish someone would give ME a couple of these beautiful birds!!! This person actually wants these birds so badly, they actually managed to SPELL THE NAME OF THE SPECIES WRONG!!! So they've REALLY done their homework (sic)

Maybe that's why they don't know the value? These days, if it can't be googled it doesn't exist.

There are lots of people asking for African Grays (£700+) and Macaws (£1,000+) for free, some are even expecting them to be complete with cages and to be delivered to them!!!!!

Its not just parrots either, Ive been looking at reptile sections (vivariums are reptile enclosures) and people are expecting venomous snakes, crocodiles, scorpians and large constrictors (i.e. pythons) all for free. These animals can kill people and some require special liciences to be sold legally.

I hope most pet owners are discerning enough not to just hand over potentially dangerous species. Some of these animals have large numbers of babies though, so there is the temptation to just give them away to anyone!

Even when you do give things away for free - people still want more.

I remember moving house a few years back and we had a fairly decent 3 piece suite that we wanted rid of. Despite giving it away to collect, people wanted to know if we would deliver and even when explaining that it would need a van I was asked if I would provide that too.

People also wondered if I would store it for them until they were ready in a couple of months time.

Some people always want want and then want some more.

guilty as charged, on another site freecycle i belive I asked for a campervan as a disabled carer for my friend i look after who is also disabled not expecting to get any replies.
to date iv'e recieved no less than 10 offers of campers /caravan-tents the details of which iv'e passed on to other disabled people and there carers who are seeking them.

For most of my life I've been in the position to "save" animals of all sorts; sometimes for but a few months and sometimes for the balance of their years... and I've had all sorts of pets... all of them rescues (including my current cat).

90% of the time the rescues involve very egotistical individuals that bit off far more than they were ready for i.e. if you want a pet tiger you'd best spend at least a year or two learning about big cats FIRST HAND, they are not kitty cats! Though you can work with them and build a very positive relationship; one that allows you to trust that animal at a significant level, you must also realize at all times that it can eat you and more specifically, small children in that they are the size of food in the wild.

Parrots?

Yep they are a beautiful bird, but just like peacocks and geese they have been (and still are) used as both, a guard animal and security system; they make a heck of a lot of noise that you can't flip a switch to turn off, and they will bite and "horn" people they don't know... trust me, it will remind you of an Alfred Hitchcock film. But if you were to visit John Gaughan warehouse the first thing he will warn you of, are the parrots.

21st Century people (and those of the late 20th) have been too distanced from the truths about life and nature. We've been told that we can have this and that critter as a pet but we forget that the people handling those animals on TV either are or have very close by, professional animal handlers. Being someone that's dealt with all sorts of exotics (circus and zoo animals, mainly) I can assure you, it does require a bit of a brain and the ability to be aware along with special patience when dealing with any such "pet"

The other side of all of this is knowing your own limitations and being honest about them. As self-contained as my little black kitty is, I do have an obligation towards her, not just food & water but she requires attention in other ways including the medical costs. Though they are nominal (now) that's not always the case. There will come a time when her veterinary bills will be more than that $100.00 a year she's costing me right now. Few think down the road that far but we really need to in that those animals will learn to trust and depend upon us when they are in need. They aren't a novelty, they are an intelligence; though certain factions within society want to negate the fact that they have emotions and "feelings" the converse has been proven time and again; they know us and remember us and just as you would feel hurt when "thrown away" by your family, so do they when we arrogantly abandon them

Pardon my rant, but stories like this really get me bent. I love animals far too much... more than I care about the majority of humans in that "they" (the animals) have always been my safety -- the friends I could go to when the rest of the world was beating me down. But that's why I think they are some of the best teachers on the planet, when it comes to teaching us simple things about living life; to enjoy it and not be such a weenie when you get an ouchie, and to always forgive and give back love even in the eyes of adversity... something more than a few animals I've known were capable of doing.

I've said enough... sorry for going off

I don't think you need to apologise. Idiotic pet owners are worth getting worked up about, especially as were heading into the worst period of the year for all this.