Report Reveals Shocking Fate Of Exotic Animals

Starving, deformed, repeatedly burned, and left to die in filth.

A new report reveals this is the shocking fate of an increasing number of exotic animals kept in the UK – often not because their owners are intentionally cruel, but because of ignorance.

The RSPCA – which collected more than 2,500 neglected, unwanted or abandoned exotic pets last year – suggests that much advice given to inexperienced prospective pet owners can be not only woefully inadequate but also wrong.

For example, 16 per cent of pet shops said the animal the caller was interested in buying would not get ill. Sixty per cent of pet shops did not provide care advice when the caller admitted they had no experience of keeping that type of animal before.

A survey of vets has shown there is concern within the veterinary profession that the number of exotic animals suffering due to their owners’ lack of knowledge is on the increase, illustrated by shocking cases vets have been asked to treat. One vet reported that he had treated a green iguana that had been fed on breakfast cereal and milk and kept loose in a bedroom with no source of ultraviolet light.

The survey also revealed that many vets don’t have the knowledge or experience to treat exotic animals. In fact 33 per cent of vets said they referred cases to other vets. Twenty per cent of vets did not treat exotics at all and did not refer them elsewhere.

A spokesperson revealed that:

“There are many people who have a wealth of exotic animal care knowledge who set an excellent example – but there are many without. In addition a worrying number of pet shops are not questioning the knowledge prospective exotic pet owners have and the information given by many pet shops is often poor and misleading.

“For example, staff at one pet shop we surveyed correctly advised that anyone buying a caiman (a small alligator) would need to obtain a Dangerous Wild Animals Licence, adding that it could be difficult to do so. They said the best way to get one is to ‘baffle the local authority with words’. When told there was a baby in the house where the caiman would be kept, they merely suggested that the baby wasn’t allowed into the tank.

“Clearly animals with specialist needs are frequently going home with uninformed people to conditions that can ultimately lead to their suffering. Veterinary treatment can then be hard to find.”