Disease
Around 75% of the emerging diseases affecting people are zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans). 50 million people worldwide were infected with zoonotic diseases between 2000 and 2006 and as many as 78,000 have died. Most wildlife, whether wild-caught or captive-bred, arrives in a country with minimal disease screening and some species, including reptiles and amphibians, are not subject to quarantine regulations.
Exotic pets are also an important risk factor in salmonella, which causes diarrhoea, fever, abdominal cramps and even death. 11% of salmonella illnesses in young people in the USA – 74,000 cases annually – are thought to stem from direct and indirect contact with reptiles and amphibians. Public health authorities recommend against keeping reptiles as pets in households that include children and people with compromised immune systems (particularly pregnant women and the elderly). In 2000, the Chief Medical Officer for England issued a warning when a three-week-old baby died after contracting salmonella and five other children became ill from the families’ pet reptiles.
A law prohibiting the sale of small turtles in the USA has been described as “the most effective public health action” to prevent salmonella outbreaks associated with turtles, preventing an estimated 100,000 cases in children annually.
A number of infectious agents have been spread globally by the wildlife trade. 80-90% of all macaque monkeys are infected with Herpes B virus, which is shed particularly during periods of stress. It is harmless to them but often fatal to humans. To protect the public from attacks and exposure to zoonoses, the US National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians recommended banning the breeding and sale of primates as pets.
But it’s not just diseases that put people at risk. Many of the animals traded are dangerous in other ways, becoming aggressive as they grow older and causing injuries through bites and scratches.
Many thanks to The Captive Animals' Protection Society for the above information which is taken from their 'Exotic Animals are Not Pets' factsheet. We highly recommend you visit http://www.captiveanimals.org/images/Exotic%20pet%20factsheet.pdf and read this factsheet in full in its original format. Please support CAPS and their invaluable work by visiting their website at http://www.captiveanimals.org seeing how you can help.
Exotic pets are also an important risk factor in salmonella, which causes diarrhoea, fever, abdominal cramps and even death. 11% of salmonella illnesses in young people in the USA – 74,000 cases annually – are thought to stem from direct and indirect contact with reptiles and amphibians. Public health authorities recommend against keeping reptiles as pets in households that include children and people with compromised immune systems (particularly pregnant women and the elderly). In 2000, the Chief Medical Officer for England issued a warning when a three-week-old baby died after contracting salmonella and five other children became ill from the families’ pet reptiles.
A law prohibiting the sale of small turtles in the USA has been described as “the most effective public health action” to prevent salmonella outbreaks associated with turtles, preventing an estimated 100,000 cases in children annually.
A number of infectious agents have been spread globally by the wildlife trade. 80-90% of all macaque monkeys are infected with Herpes B virus, which is shed particularly during periods of stress. It is harmless to them but often fatal to humans. To protect the public from attacks and exposure to zoonoses, the US National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians recommended banning the breeding and sale of primates as pets.
But it’s not just diseases that put people at risk. Many of the animals traded are dangerous in other ways, becoming aggressive as they grow older and causing injuries through bites and scratches.
Many thanks to The Captive Animals' Protection Society for the above information which is taken from their 'Exotic Animals are Not Pets' factsheet. We highly recommend you visit http://www.captiveanimals.org/images/Exotic%20pet%20factsheet.pdf and read this factsheet in full in its original format. Please support CAPS and their invaluable work by visiting their website at http://www.captiveanimals.org seeing how you can help.
