Greater restrictions on exotic pets welcome

IT is welcome news that the RSPCA and Born Free Foundation are in favour of restrictions on keeping exotic pets. (“Exotic pets overhaul”, September 15).

Fulfilling the needs of such animals can be very challenging and many people buy exotic pets without prior research.

As well as the provision of an appropriate diet, exotic animals may need a controlled environment with specific levels of heat and/or light.

Some may need to live in groups, others are solitary.

A large, secure enclosure may be needed, as well as the availability of a local vet with knowledge of exotic animals.

These are just some of the many issues to consider when thinking of having an exotic pet.

A 2016 report revealed that lions, tigers, poisonous snakes and crocodiles are kept as pets in the UK.

A Freedom of Information Act request from the BBC reported that licences for a variety of animals from pumas to wolves and ostriches have been granted.

The popularity of selling animals online has encouraged the exotic pet trade which is very lucrative.

Unscrupulous traders will acquire animals to order for the right price. It is reported that many animals are caught in the wild.

This is not only cruel and stressful, especially for infant animals, it also undermines conservation efforts and is a major cause of biodiversity loss.

Captured animals are transported for long distances in dreadful conditions and many die in transit.

The exotic pet trade also fuels illegal animal trafficking. These animals will not have had veterinary checks nor been quarantined and may carry diseases.

It is estimated that 75 per cent of all new infectious diseases originate in animals.

Owners of exotic pets who tire of caring for them, when the novelty wears off, often let them loose in the wild where they wreak havoc with ecosystems and indigenous animals or fall victim to the elements, predators or become predators themselves.

Anyone considering having any pet and especially an exotic animal should put the animal’s welfare needs before their own desire.

For most wild species, true love and affection for the animal is best demonstrated by leaving them in the wild where they belong.

Any new laws to prevent the exploitation of innocent animals is long overdue.

Elizabeth Allison, Aylestone