Why do people own exotic pets?

The death of an Ontario man has, once again, raised the issue of regulations preventing the keeping of dangerous exotic animals. Or, at least, the licensing of them.

Norman Buwalda, 66, had entered the cage of his Siberian tiger to feed it. The "pet" attacked and killed him.

It's not the first time people in Ontario have been attacked by exotic animals, including tigers, lions and bears. On one occasion, a young boy was seriously wounded after being attacked by a tiger that was being set up for a picture.

Animal rights activists are saying Buwalda's death could have been prevented if provincial legislation, revised only last year, had banned the keeping of exotic pets.

Now, a vigorous public debate is certain to ensue over the rights of citizens to keep exotic animals as pets.

B.C. went through a similar debate only a couple of years ago when a Bridge Lake woman was mauled to death at a private tiger exhibit owned by her boyfriend, as her children looked on in horror.

The issue almost always involves the question of which animals should be included, and whether regulations on exotic pets, assuming they should be passed at all, should be the jurisdiction of municipalities or the provincial government.

The problem with leaving it to municipalities is that the regulations in one are likely to be different than in another, and the rules become a confusing and ineffective hodgepodge.

Fortunately, in B.C., the province took on the issue and came up with the Controlled Alien Species Regulation, announced last March. The restricted list includes more than 1,200 species including black panthers, lions, tigers, pythons and even poisonous frogs.

As much as regulations may be needed if we're to reduce the incidence of needless injuries and deaths from the keeping of exotic animals as pets, the situation raises the question of what makes people want to own them in the first place.

Is being able to brag that you have a tiger in your backyard really worth the risk, not to mention the suffering of a biologically wild beast that has been deprived of its freedom?

Animals, especially exotic animals, shouldn't be regarded as conversation starters or as things with which to stroke our own egos. They're sentient beings deserving of respect and protection.

No matter how well cared for these animals may seem to be in terms of food and shelter, taking away their freedom for the purposes of our own gratification isn't defensible.

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