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Exotic pets pose health risks

HAYLEY MICK

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 1:29 AM EST 09/10/08

Reptiles, monkeys, rodents and other exotic pets are soaring in popularity, but shouldn't be welcomed in homes with babies, toddlers or people with immune-system problems, says report ...Read the full article

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  1. gordon davies from Victoria B.C., Canada writes: These that adopt a strange pet to be different, seem to be using it just to be noticed & bring some notice to their drab existence.
  2. Eric Johnson from Tampa, United States writes: Sounds like busy bodies who want to tell other people how to live.
  3. janis apse from oxford mills, Canada writes: I am always amazed at the level of a lack of balance in risk assessments. On one side we are now publicly exposed to the risks in the food system as never before even though the knowledge has exiasted for some time. We accuse governments and their agencies of all kinds of sins and slap commentaries on their alleged omissions. Some of these come from respected professors who without mush balance or research throw in their two nickels and dimes. it must be nice to be in the groves of academe. Now that there are pet issues we allegedly should not worry if a few children get sick. This is the lack of balance-- we should worry more about children getting zoonoses and place it in perspective about the acceptance of voluntary risks on behalf of our children. I have watched and read with disdain and alarm the irresponsible tirades of ill informed academics about the Canadian food supply and goody too-shoes inspectors so when an informed academic , as in this case makes a commentary I can only support him and yell: HURRAH!! I hate to fall back on experience but after 30 years in food and drug law I am still amazed that good science is not the prime foundation for thoughtful commentary. HURRAH to a scientifically founded warning. Janis Apse DVM, LLB.
  4. guy tozer from Saskatoon, Canada writes: More fearmongering form the so called"experts. In my lifetime (of 61 years) I have had a fox, skunk, raccoon, rabbit, dogs, cats, birds , chameleons, white mice , countless snakes, a hedgehog, and assorted fish and even turtles for pets. Not once was I sick or maimed from these animals. And Gordon Davies from Victoris B.C., you obviously haven't been attuned with nature.
  5. RD Lone from Vancouver, Canada writes: Since when are hamsters "exotic"?

    While the article perhaps raises a potential risk - I agree with the other posters that it is blown out of proportion compared to regular daily dangers.
  6. harry carnie from Northern , B.C., Canada writes: Personally.. I think there is more danger from SOME peoples kids...dirty little "snotboxes" who have not been taught to wash their hands after using the bathroom, or wipe their noses.
  7. Dawn from Minnesota from Minnesota, United States writes: This article is full of generalizations and misinformation. Any animal and any human can contract and pass salmonella. The reason reptiles, turtles in particular, have gotten a bad rap was because dealers kept red eared sliders, popular pets in the 60s, in large vats where they swam in their feces for lengthy periods of time. Food was tossed in the vats occasionally. The hatchlings didn't die. Instead, they contracted salmonella and passed it to humans when they were sold as pets. Any animal or human that lives in an unsanitary environment will likely contract and pass salmonella. Most of the prisoners in the Nazi death camps had salmonella. While there are many exotics that don't make good pets for a variety or reasons, turtles and other reptiles do not cause allergy problems in humans. 25 million Americans have cat/dog allergies. I am one of them. I think that people should make their own decisions regarding the appropriate pet for their household. If nobody is home most of the time, a dog is not a good pet. Delicate animals like turtles are not good pets for small children unless their care and handling is overseen by an adult. A large fish tank might not work in a home in hot, humid climate because the tank will add humidity to the home. It is important for anybody who buys or adopts an animal to understand the animal's needs, know where the animal came from, deal with reputable dealer/breeder, etc and take into consideration the suitability of the home, their lifestyle, number of children and their ages, etc. Guy Tozer: I am a lot like you. I have owned a box turtle for almost 19 years and have taken in plenty of injured animals. I even cared for an injured little brown bat for 7 years. Both the turtle and the bat were rescues. If you learn what you need to know and make sure that you can accommodate the animal, there shouldn't be a problem.
  8. janis apse from oxford mills, Canada writes: I am always amazed at the level of a lack of balance in risk assessments. On one side we are now publicly exposed to the risks in the food system as never before even though the knowledge has exiasted for some time. We accuse governments and their agencies of all kinds of sins and slap commentaries on their alleged omissions. Some of these come from respected professors who without mush balance or research throw in their two nickels and dimes. it must be nice to be in the groves of academe. Now that there are pet issues we allegedly should not worry if a few children get sick. This is the lack of balance-- we should worry more about children getting zoonoses and place it in perspective about the acceptance of voluntary risks on behalf of our children. I have watched and read with disdain and alarm the irresponsible tirades of ill informed academics about the Canadian food supply and goody too-shoes inspectors so when an informed academic , as in this case makes a commentary I can only support him and yell: HURRAH!! I hate to fall back on experience but after 30 years in food and drug law I am still amazed that good science is not the prime foundation for thoughtful commentary. HURRAH to a scientifically founded warning. Janis Apse DVM, LLB.
  9. Eat Your Weedies from Canada writes: I am not an animal activist, but, come on! No one should have "exotic" pets. We used to call them wild animals and now people want to pretend they can kiss them and play with them without consequence. It should be illegal to have these animals- even if only for the animals' sake.

    Proper environmental stewardship starts at home. What kind of a message do parents send to their children when they falsely give the impression they can own whatever they want? Teach to respect boundaries between people and between people and animals. sheesh.
  10. Eat Your Weedies from Canada writes: Janis Apse- As a former scientist (life has taken me a different way now), I agree with your last comment. But you know, the people are fickle and when things get reported in the media, the science always (ALWAYS) gets reduced and simplified to the point of scandalous sensationalism. How can people understand? They won't/ can't read/understand the original research themselves and the dumbed-down versions are always innaccurate.

    So what do people do? They get pulled this was or that depending on a few "reliable" high-profile "scientists". Like David Suzuki. He's a politician but people think he's a scientist. He says "left" and a swell of fans moves left. There is no science that can stand up to the cult of personality. Sigh. So, to sway the massses, academics have to sound like idiots making dumbed-down points that, at the end of the day, are more impassioned opinion than informed conclusion.
  11. Dawn from Minnesota from Minnesota, United States writes: Eat Your Weedies from Canada writes: I am not an animal activist, but, come on! No one should have "exotic" pets. We used to call them wild animals and now people want to pretend they can kiss them and play with them without consequence. It should be illegal to have these animals- even if only for the animals' sake.----- To: Eat Your Weedies: I am trained and licensed in wild animal rehabilitation. People with my credentials help animal non profits (Wildlife Rehab Centers, the Human Society), and the DNR with transitioning injured animals back to the wild following vet care and sometimes needed surgery. If the animal cannot be returned to the wild but is healthy and able to function without pain, it sometimes stays with the one of us or finds its way to a hobby farm owned by somebody with similar training and licenses. In the United States, it is illegal to take in a wild animal. However, some animals that are sold in pet stores come from the wild. The responsible thing for people to do when they are contemplating buying a pet is to make sure that the animal did not come from the wild. I have a friend with a pet store that features many types of exotics. All of the exotics were hand raised. This subject is complex. As RD Lone from Vancouver points out, these days a hamster is classified as an exotic pet.
  12. On Edge from Ottawa, Canada writes: Living with an animal in your home, especially when children are present, presents risks. Dogs in particular spread disease and cause allergic reactions, not to mention bites, which occur by the thousands in Canada yearly. We need an education program in which dogs should be monitored carefully in the home and by veterinarians, owners should be required to have them defecate and urinate on their own property, and they should be walked muzzled and on regulation length and strength leashes by adults only. Hey, a health risk is a health risk, all sentimentality aside. It's public health, folks.
  13. guy tozer from saskatoon, Canada writes: On Edge from Ottawa: You must have been a very lonely child!! No pets, sad.
  14. Tracy B. from GAS STATION, Canada writes: I have experience with this! No one under 21 should be in possession of any kind of pet except dogs and cats and birds (older youths). Birds, fish, lizards etc... are very toxic and need contant cleaning care. They are not good pets at all. They are for people who enjoy a zoo or museum sort of display in their home. Cats, birds and dogs also need a lot of grooming and care but they can spend a lot of time outdoors where they can cut down on your cleaning time. Most pets exept maybe dogs cause a lot of diseases and illnesses that are very hard to treat and control. Listen to a veterinarian carefully when young people are involved with pet ownership. They have the young persons best interests at heart always: especially if they too have kids. I dont want to bring up bites and other issues because those problems are easily solved. Its the illnesses that are a very serious concern. YOU DONT HAVE TO GET OR FEEL SICK TO BE SICK. these things wear down your immune system and you die younger and have a harder elderly life.
  15. Wilf Kruggel from Canada writes: Animals do not belong in the same homes that people live in. It's just a matter of time before the desease calamity hits, regardless of what you house pet enthusiasts think. It's comming but just hasn't hit, yet. Then, your beloved pets will put you in the grave and you probably wont even know it, Wilf
  16. Wilf Kruggel from Canada writes: Guy Toser, that's the problem in todays society, the dogs and cats, for too many years, have replaced the most important entity in a family's life, their beloved children. One should not have to wonder long as to why our young people are out of control, they never had real parents. Gosh, if parents didn't want kids, why did they bother having them? Wilf
  17. B H from Toronto, Canada writes: I don't know, I still think on the whole there are even larger health risks to kids who grow up in the very unnatural mostly-indoor, little-contact-with animals life than with properly cared for animals. Learn everything you can about the animal before you decide to get one, keep everything clean, and make sure all the animal's needs are met so it stays healthy and happy, but IMO, a life with lots of animals around is still much closer to what humans were designed for than the sterile artificial environment that's now increasingly being blamed for the huge rise in allergies and asthma. It's been known for a long time that kids that spend more time outside, who live on farms, or come into frequent contact with animals and the outdoors, are measurably healthier as adults.
  18. B H from Toronto, Canada writes: Also, there is a much greater risk from poor food handling in the kitchen (almost all raw chicken and eggs contains salmonella these days, so most of us come into contact with it daily) then there seems to be from live animals. In both cases (food preparation, and pets), I would educate myself and follow good guidelines for care, but not panic...
  19. Eat Your Weedies from Canada writes: My extended family has great respect for animals. They raised cattle, goats, chickens (among other things) and tended them with care and affection. Then, they ate them. It was a business afterall- the business of supporting family and survival.

    I think too many people have somehow gotten into this notion that we have to be living in the barn and sleeping among beasts to demonstrate "love" for animals. We moved into the city and have turned our homes into menageries. It's just plain weird.

    Exotic pets (in most cases) are a perversion of good stewardship.
  20. On Edge from Ottawa, Canada writes: The health risks from living with animals, especially for children, are more significant than those of some other things we have banned and severely restricted. Helmets, car seats, indoor smoking, play equipment, food additives and ingredients, types of plastics, and much more.
  21. guy tozer from saskatoon, Canada writes: Wilf Kruggel: Where in this world did you get brainwashed about pets and diseases? For 60 years I have been living with pets, of all species and so have my children. In fact I taught them responsibility by having pets. At no time did anyone in my household or anyone I knew , get sick .Your Orwellian thoughts are a reflection of a complete misunderstanding of the animal world. It is your kind of thinking that perpetrates misunderstanding.

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