Do your neighbors have a tiger in their basement, a bear in the garage, or a Burmese python in the den? Or perhaps a makeshift zoo in the backyard?
You might think it would be impossible for your neighbor to turn a private home into a mini-menagerie, but Virginia has disturbingly weak regulations regarding possession of dangerous wild animals. Which means that operators of poorly run roadside zoos, unqualified individuals, felons and even those who have previous exotic animal violations can keep predators such as big cats and bears, as well as dangerous snakes, by simply obtaining a permit. And no permit at all is required to keep primates, despite so many tragic outcomes that we read about in the news.
Recently, the problem was vividly illustrated by reports of a Surry County man who was attacked while he slept by one of the two Java macaque monkeys he kept as "pets." The wounds to the man's face and wrist required him to be hospitalized. And the consequences could be worse than a few stitches. According to the Virginia Department of Health, "Up to 90 percent of adult macaques can be carriers of herpes B-virus," which has "a fatality rate of about 70 percent" in humans.
Not only are humans victims, but animals suffer needlessly — sometimes horribly — in these circumstances. Cute and agreeable baby animals become aggressive and territorial as they mature, often resulting in the animals being doomed to a life of increasing isolation, loneliness and frustration.
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Mind you, under state rules, there's no need to demonstrate any special experience or expertise in caring for or caging an animal that can bring down a buffalo or win a fight with an alligator. You don't need much more than a bit of a death wish, a few hundred bucks, and — in some cases — an easily obtained license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to bring home a tiger, lion, leopard, black bear or other dangerous wild animal from an exotic animal auction or the Internet.
The only special qualifications a private citizen needs to demonstrate, in most instances in Virginia, is the ability to fill out a simple one- or two-page form and/or provide a health certificate, depending on the species.
Compared with domesticated species and pets, exotic animals privately owned by individuals and roadside menageries are, of course, much more apt to be involved in incidents that threaten public safety and result in injury and death.
Last summer, six chimpanzees escaped an enclosure at a menagerie in Mechanicsville, and one was not recaptured until the next day. According to the animals' veterinarian, the escape was the third such incident at the facility.
Also last year, a Chesapeake man was assaulted for the second time in two weeks by his pet capuchin monkey, who attacked his legs and bit his left hand, severing a finger. In 2008, a 25-year-old Virginia Beach woman was found strangled to death by her pet python.
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The Humane Society of the United States urges the Virginia General Assembly to enact strong legislation restricting the possession of dangerous wild animals to only zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as well as legitimate sanctuaries. There's no good or safe reason for individuals and unqualified facilities to keep dangerous wild animals. The outcome is inevitably bad, and possibly fatal — for both people and the animals.
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