Exotic+Pets


 * The alligator in the cage can't turn around. It's getting bigger and bigger and its nose is pushing against the glass. The shark has no room to swim. It swims in tiny circles. It hits the glass, startled. There is a fading blue light, as you walk into this exotic pet shop. There are plenty of pets, screaming. As the staff welcomes you, you look around at the depressed animals. You're probably thinking that taking animals out of their natural habitats to be pets is bad. But the truth is, it's a really complicated topic. **

** Why do people take animals out of their natural habitat? “Because we must study them to make sure that in the future if they go close to extinction, we can breed them,” says Jim Paintaiff, an exotic pet specialist **  Also, he says, you might be saving an animal’s life, maybe they are losing food or habitat. Most people want these pets for their unusualness. But, exotic pets can be hard to handle and there are also many more bad things about them, too. According to the website of Born Free U.S.A., a non-profit group that works to pass laws against keeping exotic pets, exotic animals can carry diseases like Herpes B, monkeypox, and salmonella. Most animals from the other parts of the world are not used to the climate here. Also, you must have alot of time to care for them because they need lots of attention and care to survive here.


 * According to an article in the Asheville Citizen Times, (May 2, 2010) Monica Engebretson, from Born Free U.S.A. said,“North Carolina has relatively few regulations on exotic animals although counties can pass ordinances restricting them.” This means you need a lot of support to pass ordinances to restrict ownership of certain exotic pets. In 2004, a North Carolina boy was mauled by his aunt's Bengal tiger and killed. Wilkes and Surry counties then passed a law saying you can't have "non-domestic wildlife such as bears, wolves, tigers, other wild cats, non human primates, dangerous reptiles, and other non-traditional 'exotic' animals.'" Here in Asheville, according to ---from the Asheville Animal Control Services, an Asheville postman called Animal Control and said, "We have a box down here that's moving." - said, " When we carefully opened the box, sure enough, there was an American Alligator." Having an American Alligator is extremely illegal. According to-, people in Asheville can have some exotic animals like pot belly pigs, if they have a permit. To check on what animals you can have and if you need a permit you can call Animal Control. **

Another way that Animal Control Services of Asheville can help is if an exotic animal is reported and it doesn't have a permit. First, they would catch the animal, then they would send it to a shelter. The shelter would send it to a zoo or nature center. People can sponsor the animal by giving money to buy it food at the Nature Center. People can also volunteer with the Western North Carolina nature center or a rescue group, like Carolina Tiger Rescue, which rescues wild cats. Another obstacle to solving the problem of exotic pets is that people just want to own exotic pets. We need to raise awareness about the problems using methods like this feature story.

The issue of exotic pets is complicated, you must know alot to take care of an exotic pet. One of our group members owns an exotic pet, but she knows so much about it that she can keep it alive. But, its simple, all you have to do is help and the alligater will be able to turn around. The shark will be free. All the exotic pets from around the world will be free to live a life of peace and happiness. ​ = = May 25 Emmeline and Chloe, 1. Look at the video of your interview with Jim fulton and get a quote about exotic animals from him--and use it in your paragraph on pros and cons. 2. Finish up your paragraph. Do you want to add a sentence about Emmeline's choice to get her pet? As one of the pros?

Emmeline, Chloe, TJ, and Craig --you need a conclusion- Use the last sentence of your first paragraph as the first sentence of your last paragraph! Write a sentence about your group's conclusions--did anything become clear as you researched this? What do you think that people should do? You could end the paragraph with what you wrote on your graphic **organizer:** = Introduction =
 * The alligator in the cage can't turn around. It's getting big and bigger and its nose is pushing against the glass. The shark has no room to swim. It swims in tiny circles. It hits the glass, startled. There is a fading blue light, as you walk into this exotic pet shop. There are plenty of pets, screaming. As the staff welcomes you, you look around at the depressed animals. You're probably thinking that taking animals out of their natural habitats to be pets is bad. But the truth is, it's a really complicated topic. **

Paragraph 2
**Why do people take animals out of their natural habitat? “Because we must study them to make sure that in the future if they go close to extinction, we can breed them,” says Jim Paintaiff, an exotic pet specialist** Also, he says, you might be saving an animals life, maybe they are losing food or habitat. Most people want these pets for their unusualness. But, exotic pets can be hard to handle and there are also many more bad things about them, too. According to the website of Born Free U.S.A., a non-profit group that works to pass laws against keeping exotic pets, exotic animals can carry diseases like Herpes B, monkeypox, and salmonella. Most animals from the other parts of the world are not used to the climate here. Also, you must have alot of time to care for them because they need lots of attention and care to survive here.

Paragraph 3
= = = = = =
 * According to an article in the Asheville Citizen Times, (May 2, 2010) Monica Engebretson, from Born Free U.S.A. said,“North Carolina has relatively few regulations on exotic animals although counties can pass ordinances restricting them.” This means you need a lot of support to pass ordinances to restrict ownership of certain exotic pets. In 2004, a North Carolina boy was mauled by his aunt's bengal tiger and killed.  Wilkes and Surry counties then passed a law saying you can't have "non-domestic wildlife such as bears, wolves, tigers, other wild cats non human primates and dangerous reptiles, and other non-traditonal 'exotic' animals.'" Here in Asheville, according to ---from the Asheville Animal Control Services, an Asheville postman called Animal Control and said, "We have a box down here that's moving." - said, " When we carefully opened the box, sure enough, there was an American Alligator." Having an American Aligator is extremely illegal. According to-, people in Asheville can have some exotic animals like pot belly pigs, if they have a permit. To check on what animals you can have and if you need a permit you can call Animal Control .   **

Another way that Animal Control Services of Asheville can help is if an exotic animal is reported and it doesn't have a permit. First they would catch the animal, then they would send it to a shelter. The shelter would send it to a zoo or nature center. People can sponsor the animal by giving money to buy it food at the Nature Center. People can also volunteer with the Western North Carolina nature center or a rescue group, like Carolina Tiger Rescue, which rescues wild cats. . Another obstacle to solving the problem of exotic pets is that people just want to own exotic pets. We need to raise awareness about the problems using methods like this feature story. **conclution** It's complecated, you must know alot to take care of an exotic pet. One of our group members owns an exotic pet, but she knows so much about it that she can keep it alive. But, Its simple, all you have to do is help and the aligater will be able to turn around. The shark will be free. All the extic pets from around the world will be free to live a life of peace and happiness.