Conn. cracking down on exotic animals as pets

NECN: Brian Burnell, Hartford, Conn.) - Connecticut is trying to crack down on exotic animals without punishing the animals’ owners.

It will hold an amnesty day that will allow owners to surrender their pets with no questions asked.

It is hard to believe that the animals were actually kept as pets but they were.

Take a look and a listen.

That's a rattlesnake letting you know he is not happy. Believe it or not this was once someone's pet. Not that it’s legal.

Rattlesnakes are just one reptile banned as pets in Connecticut.

State wildlife officials want to get as many illegal, exotic pets out of homes and into conservation centers as they can. To that end, they are holding an amnesty day on March 31 at Beardsley Park Zoo in Bridgeport. Turn in your illegal, exotic pet that day with no questions asked.

“Other than the sex of the animal, the age of the animal, nutritional or behavioral information on that animal," said Sgt. Cynthia Schneide.

Nutritional information: that can be a problem because people who get these creatures seldom know how to care for them.

Meet Fred, an alligator taken from a home in Vermont. He was probably a baby when the owner got him. But he grew even though he was fed hot dogs for 20 years.

"He got none of the diet, the calcium or anything he needs to grow good bones. His front feet are just balls of bone, basically. They're all fused together. He has very short toes. And when we got him he had no teeth," said Michael Ralbovsky.

Let's face it: that's animal abuse. It’s one reason the state wants these animals out of private homes. The other is safety.

Remember Chandra Nash, the woman whose face was torn off by a chimpanzee that went wild in Stamford a few years ago? Since then, primates, like this gibbon, have been banned in Connecticut.

"He's adorable now. Certainly not dangerous at this moment," said Marcella Leone, Leo Conservation Center.

But that will change, which is why this primate and many large or dangerous reptiles are no longer allowed as pets here.

Not all reptiles are banned. If you are just tired of taking care of that boa constrictor or iguana, too bad. The state will not take legal animals at the amnesty day.
www.necn.com/03/21/12/Conn-cracking-down-on-exotic-animals-as-/landing_newengland.html?blockID=674400&feedID=4206

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