Memorandum submitted by Pauline Kidner
Comments are based on the experience gained
from 20 years caring for rescued exotic animals and British wildlife
care. I have also been a member of the working party hosted by
Defra on the Rehabilitation Protocol for Badgers.
PET OR
ANIMAL FAIRS
AND PET
SHOPS
1. No Private/Members only events, Exhibition
shows or Hobbyist Open shows, Pet or Animal Fairs should be licensed
to sell any animals. This allows impulse buys where animals are
taken home with no preparation for food, accommodation or consideration
of the involvement of responsibility. Events such as these should
be only for the use of showing breeding stock that are used to
transportation and are returning to their homes. The show then
becomes a window allowing prospective buyers to select the kind
of animal they desire and then make further arrangements to be
able to view the animal they wish to buy, having the opportunity
to see the conditions they have been kept in and parent stock.
We have had far too many pets passed on to us
by people not understanding the requirements of individual animal,
the longevity and size of the animal due to impulse purchases
often causing dangerous situations to arise.
2. All commercial breeders, ie anyone with
more than one pair of animals for breeding, should be licensed
and subject to inspection.
3. Clear legislation controlling the ownership
and accommodation of specialist animals that can be considered
to be dangerous, particularly reptiles, parrots and mammals that
are members of the cat or monkey/ape family.
ANIMAL SANCTUARIES
4. All Sanctuaries or Rescue Centres, irrespective
of size, should be licensed and thus be subject to inspections.
5. Wildlife Sanctuaries or Rescue Centres
should be inspected by officers with experience of wildlife care
and requirements. Ethics of euthanasia must be considered.
6. Licensing should not however be to the
extreme that it excludes small wildlife units that are better
suited to give quiet accommodation with fewer possibilities of
disease spread.
SUMMARY
The environment of any animal kept for commercial
or welfare reasons should be protected by licensing and inspection.
The cost of inspections should bring in enough revenue to fund
the required visits. £50-£100 inspection costs would
bring some hardship but if these amounts cannot be found, finances
must be limited and one must question whether proper veterinary
care can also be afforded.
Misguided affections must not be an excuse for
proper care.
Licensing of possible dangerous exotic animals
should be in place for the protection of the animal itself, the
general public and to discourage illegal importation of species.
25 August 2004
| 
