Monday, November 6
Page Six
Exot ic
“Certainly there are precious
few exotic animals which make
good pets!” — That sounds like
someone opposed to that profit
able aspect of the business of
dealing in pets. Actually it is a
successful businessman in the
pet industry, pleading with pet
dealers to make the first move
in establishing standards by
which trade in exotic pets may
be regulated.
“Many times our first reac
tion to pending legislation or to
any pressing problem is emotion
al rather than rational.”, accord
ing to H. Dale Piatt, in an article
entitled “A New Look at Exo
tics” - Pets/ Supplies/ Market
ing, June, 1972. Piatt believes
that “Few people can offer valid
arguments that such animals as
ocelots, sun bears, coatimundis,
grissons, jaguars, or even rac
coons make good pets, a good
pet being one which remains
tame and can be safely handled
throughout its life.”
Piatt points out that few peo
ple are “financially or emotion
ally equipped” to cope with the
problems involved in caring for
an exotic animal. His suggestion
for a standard is guided by the
following policy proposal: Those
which make good pets should be
promoted, those which do not
should be blacklisted. Just the
high mortality rate of some ani
mals being imported demands
this action he reasons, and the
industry should make research
funds available to appointed
zoologists to locate new species
which are readily adaptable as
pets.
Richard K. Matthews, in his
highly definitive and comprehen
sive work. Wild Animals as Pets,
offers a picture of why people
desire exotic animals for pets.
One example is an accidental ar
rival, when the animal is found
by the roadside, or in the wild,
or literally wanders into one’s
life or camp. Then there is the
ugly example of Ostentation,
that sadistic twinge of delight
a human achieves by dragging an
ocelot on a leash down Park Av
enue, successfully acquiring the
attention of passersby.
In some people, a genuine
quest for knowledge motivates
the interest in a strange, wild
animal. Others are stimulated by
tlie search for companionship,
and even surrogate children. But
the most important, according
to Matthews, is that people keep
wild pets because they [find]
them appealing in themselves
(e.g. - the cat’s beauty or the
monkey’s mental and physical
agility).
A Reader’s Digest reprint
from Outdoor World uses the
coatimundi as an example of an
unfortunate pet experience.
Robert Gannon tells about the
New York couple, thoroughly
pleased with their acquisition at
first, then awakening to the re
ality of the mature coati, which
“tore up the kitchen linoleum,
pried off huge sections of wall
paper,” and “When the man of
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TH£ SAL^MIT^
pets Exist Gynecologica
1972
the house tried to restrain her,
she bit him so severely that eight
stitches had to be taken in his
forearm.”
John Walsh, field officer for
the International Society for the
Protection of Animals, is correct
when he theorizes “Nobody
should keep an exotic pet who
doesn’t know how. And that
eliminates practically everyone.”
And, yet, Gannon reports that
more than 5,000 Americans now
own exotic cats alone. Matthews
cautions, “A wild pet, like a wild
place, must be accepted on its
own terms.”
Most of the experts agree on
one result of the inexperienced
pet owner’s folly in acquiring an
exotic pet - when the animal has
failed to maintain its appeal -
either by damaging property or
a human being - the pet is of
fered to the nearest zoo. Zoos
receive enough of these offers
that most are turned down, thus,
the animal must be “turned
loose” or returned to his habi
tat, a grim prospect for the pet
which has been declawed, de-
fanged, or deprived of survival
training from an early age.
Perhaps the most irritating
and regular surprise for the exo
tic pet owner is care and feeding,
with few prospective buyers rec
ognizing that some young ani
mals require feeding every three
or four hours, or in the care of
a rare bird, every fifteen min
utes! Could the average pet own
er handle the adult tiger’s re
quirement of 10 pounds of beef
a day? And the health concerns
top the list, with some animals
becoming ill even with the best
of care, not to mention the
worry that some humans may
be infected with a rare disease,
such as that transmitted to seven
persons fatally by two green
monkeys in Germany.
The United States just recent
ly banned commercial imports
of all species of live pets and ex
otic birds, as reported in the
August 25, 1972 issue of The
Washington Post. The ban was
imposed in an effort to eradicate
Newcastle disease, a deadly virus
that affects poultry but is not
harmful to humans, according to
the Department of Agriculture.
Scientists in California believed
that a commercial shipment last
year of imported birds was the
source of infection which
has caused the death or destruc
tion of almost four million chic
kens and other birds.
But aside from the threat to
health, the government is not
overly concerned about exotic
or wild animals unless they are
truly classified as “endangered
species” as opposed to “periph
eral mammals”
As long as someone is willing
to pay the price, someone will
probably be willing to supply
the demand. Education may be
the key to this problem, making
people aware of the problems
they face in acquiring exotic
pets, as well as the problems
they cause. Richard Matthews
offers a final observation: “when
all is said and done, the best
place to observe wild animals is
in the wild.”
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by Mopsy NeSmith
and Marie Bissette
We decided that maybe Salem
College needed gynecological ser
vices for their 620 female stu
dents. The next step was to ask
for student opinion on this sub
ject. Two hundred and forty-
four students answered our poll.
Of these students, 95.5% said
we needed free, confidential gy
necological services at Salem.
85.6% said birth control devices
should be prescribed. 94.5% said
venereal disease tests should be
given. 93.2% said pregnancy
tests should be given. 93% said
other personal examinations
should be given also. The Salem
College Infirmary was ahead of
us! The infirmary now offers
complete physicals as well as pap
smears, V.D. tests, and preg
nancy tests. The infirmary also
councils, and the records kept
at the infirmary are completely
confidential. No one can look at
them except Dr. Pennell and
Mrs. Casstevens without a court
order. How much more confi
dential could our Infirmary be?
The personal at the infirmary
are willing and well equipped to
help you with any problem you
have.
We do feel that Salem needs
to prescribe birth control devices
to its students. 37% of the peo
ple polled have used birth con
trol devices for some reason.
30% have been on the pill for
some reason. 16.8% see a private
gynecologist in Winston-Salem
13.5% take advantage of these:
vices offered by the Family
Planning Center. 6.6% of the
people use other such services In
his interesting discussion with
the students. Dr. Pennell stated
his ideas on this subject. He be
lieves that the condom is the
best method of birth control
since it caused no side effects
and protects against infectious
diseases. Also, he thinks that
Salem Health Services does not
need to prescribe birth control
services. He feels it is the respon
sibility of the student, not the
school, to see that she has ade
quate birth control. However
Dr. Pennell will gladly refer a
student to a private, competent
gynecologist for the prescription
of birth control devices. After
interviewing Dr. Chandler. Dean
Johnson, Mrs. Casstevens and
Dr. Pennell, our only major
breakthrough is that now the
school will strongly recommend
a complete physical, with tests
for entering students. Since
44.7% of the students polled had
never been to a gynecologist, we
consider this a breakthrough. In
conclusion, we feel our efforts
accomplished nothing. We are
glad that the infirmary offers
these confidential services, even
if the much needed birth control
is not prescribed. Do you feel “a
good brand name condom” is
adequate birth control for Salem
students?
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