I don't understand why he wasn't fined or jailed for animal cruelty and those animals taken away??? How is it not breaking the law?? That's horrible. If he did that to a dog I bet animal welfare would have taken the dog away from him.
I see why people want to keep exotic pets, but the thing is, if you understand and care anything about the animals, then only the most well-equipped, dedicated, and knowledgeable would do so. Most people don't have all of the necessary skills, education and resources to provide even minimal care for the animals. But if you're putting TWO lions in a horse trailer then you are a disgusting, cruel person and should be in JAIL for doing that to those animals.
Terry, you don't "love" those animals...you just love the attention they bring YOU. You're a nasty, nasty person and I DESPISE people like you.
(ah, well, he's dead...at least he won't be abusing any more lions)
Well the lions weren't underweight, didn't have injuries, and weren't being held illegally at the time. Now they could get 'em for animal cruelty because obviously cats that size should have a couple square miles to roam but then where would the lions be kept? Is the spca going to hold them like they do cats and dogs? lol
Of course it's completely disgusting to keep such large, majestic, and dangerous creatures in a confined area but people do it with horses too. It has to get pretty bad before anyone can step in and save them usually. And horses for example are big and exotic "pets" but lions would be much harder to relocate.
I believe that with what is going on in the world with almost all big cats being endangered of basically going extinct Americans need to and should have the right to own big cats. But this whole "free tiger" listing in the newspaper crap has to stop. They are a poor mans Ferrari pretty much. And people who buy pit vipers and king cobras etc. are ego tripping adolescents. There should be a process like adopting a human baby that has to take place before a person can own big cat. An acreage requirement, good credit and set income, and some type of training prerequisite. If you have the money, the land, the commitment, and there is no way that animal can escape then that's fantastic. The thing is people who already have these animals will continue to make more, so more will be sold, more will be bought, more will suffer. Sanctuaries and zoo's are full so we do need private landowners who are capable to help with helping these animals. Sorry for the long lost.
"Sanctuaries and zoo's are full so we do need private landowners who are capable to help with helping these animals."
Great post. There's no reason to ban things like this, but obviously, people who have no business with this type of animal should be prevented from doing so. There are people who may be qualified to care for them.
why is there no reason to ban this. what compelling NEED do humans, americans in particular, have that will be fulfilled by capturing and containing a large wild animal?
"I see why people want to keep exotic pets, but the thing is, if you understand and care anything about the animals, then only the most well-equipped, dedicated, and knowledgeable would do so. Most people don't have all of the necessary skills, education and resources to provide even minimal care for the animals."
THANK YOU for seeing this, and for not automatically jumping on the 'ban pets' bandwagon. I don't think someone would be arrested for doing this to a dog, unless the dogs were unhealthy without any treatment or near death as a result.
Yeah then you also have pit bulls. Those things kill around 20-30 people per year while big cats only kill like 2 or 3 (almost always their trainer or owner). Pit bulls are a much larger public safety issue with something like 125 attacks per year. It's crazy! Maybe they should be classified as exotic pets. lol seriously
Yeah, pretty much by their numbers and the way that they're kept (not in cages). I'm actually nervous that something like that can happen because you know how dogs always run up to you when you are walking another dog. All it takes is a dog-aggressive dog getting off leash.
I disagree. The only overly aggressive pit bulls are the ones that are specifically bred to be. This is not at all true for lions; their natural instinct is to hurt people. Your stats are way overblown, but even the REAL numbers for pit bull attacks are exaggerated because many different dog breeds are commonly mistaken for them. Pit bulls are no different than any other dog; as long as trainers properly care for the dogs, they will be fine. If you think there need to be tighter restrictions on owning them, there need to be tighter restrictions for all dogs.
Come on now you know pit bulls are no average dog. They love to fight, they have been bred that way. They are known to be more aggressive and have the power to kill people. Most other breeds will rarely do the same. The people who usually want pit bulls are usually the same type that want a big cat or ak-47 and rarely do they get them for protection. It's an ego boost. If residents were asked if they would mind if someone with 2 pitbulls moved into their neighborhood I bet 9/10 would say yes. Yes they are great companions but they are very good at killing too. And I never exaggerated those numbers.
Pit bulls actually have a historic reputation of being among the most child- and family-friendly dogs because of their loving and stable temperaments (only golden retrievers have been measured to have a more stable temperament). A pit bull who has not grown up a fighting dog is about as safe as a big dog gets.
I don't believe this to be true. Their capabilities far surpass that of my own similarly-sized dog. They clearly have a frightening tendency to be a nightmare dog if they are simply not raised well, which is apparently easier to occur than people think. I think pit bull supporters misconstrue the truth a little. I would never be afraid to walk near an obviously well-mannered pitt, but if you follow the occurrences of these attacks, it seems to be heavily situational. If I see one loose off leash I'm running like hell.
This post is old but i just have to say, comparing pitbulls to lions is a very ridiculous argument. You just can't for so many reasons just like the other post said.
I have to say that I thought the exact same thing. I'll never understand how when Lambert escaped onto the free-way, He, (Terry) was allowed the animal back. How could the police do nothing??
I get that his situation was bad, but surely his situation made the whole thing more volatile. I'm never going to be one to judge anyone but the state of his house, and all of those clearly exposed electricity housings should have shown what kind of pet owner he was way back when (when they returned Lambert). I also have to ask this question, why are/were these animals soooooo cheap. I know that this is going to sound wrong maybe but when I think of exotic animals I think of Michael Jackson and his private zoo not people having alligators in their living rooms for $500.
Do the *beep* snow angel, Dude!, Do the *beep* snow angel!
I totally agree! I was kinda shocked when they talked about prices in the documentary. I assumed it would be much higher. AND while I agree that they shouldn't have given Lambert back, but in the documentary the host did say that he couldn't take the lion away because Terry wasn't doing anything illegal by keeping the animal. Yes he did escape, but I guess since its almost seems more lenient to keep lions than dogs(like heck, a lot of states require dogs to be licensed), and if a dog escapes and doesn't hurt anyone..no one fusses so why would we take a lion away that escaped and didn't even really try to hurt anyone. I honestly had no idea before this that it was even legal anymore to keep Lions at your home. Its crazy.