Vancouver motion could lead to the ban of exotic pets
Current owners will be allowed to keep animals
John Bermingham, The Province
Published: Thursday, February 23, 2006
In Vancouver, it's legal to keep a tiger in your basement but not a chicken.
But a motion going before Vancouver city council next Tuesday aims to ban exotic animals as pets.
Coun. Kim Capri wants to end the sale and ownership of exotic pets, for the health of the animals, and the safety of the public.
"The fact that they're not furry and cute doesn't mean that they don't suffer, and that they still should be loved," said Capri yesterday.
"These are animals that need very particular care, and in most cases, we're just not able to provide it for them."
Capri also wants an end to the use of exotic animals in performances, which would rule out Siegfried and Roy.
In Vancouver, she said, it's more difficult to keep a pet raccoon or crow than an alligator. "That just doesn't make sense," said Capri. "We need to do something about that."
Peter Fricker of the Vancouver Humane Society said the city desperately needs the ban. "A city bylaw would protect animals, would protect public health and public safety," Fricker said yesterday.
Municipalities like New Westminster and North Vancouver, and major cities like Toronto, already restrict the sale and ownership of exotic animals.
Prohibited pets would include large and venomous snakes, alligators and crocodiles, large lizards and wild cats such as tigers and lions.
Current exotic pet owners can keep their existing pets, but the bylaw would prevent anyone from buying one in the future.
At the Rainforest Reptile Refuge in Surrey, curator Paul Springate is today looking after 400 animals in 30-C heat. They include a 2.8-metre caiman alligator and a seven-metre python.
The python was found coming up the toilet bowl of a North Van apartment a decade ago. "These animals are unwanted, abandoned, neglected, abused," said Springate.
And many of them are also endangered species.
"Most people can't handle the responsibility of sick animals," he said. "Canada is too cold for them."
A ban on exotic animals would keep them out of pet stores, he said, where most people buy them.
"It's merely a novelty," said Springate. "They're dazzled by what they see."
The problems come later, he added.
An iguana was recently dropped off in a new-model SUV with a massive growth in its jaw.
"That really bothers me," said Springate, who sits in the iguana's enclosure every day to keep it alive. "That animal is dying."
Surrey and Richmond have bylaws restricting the sale of exotic animals, but not the ownership.
Over the past decade, there's been an explosive growth in the sale of exotic pets, compounded by trade over the Internet.