Wrong Planet USED to be the one place I felt safe on the internet, now not so much...and the only place I could vent. Then Bullies like this come along. .
Delirium wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
Delirium wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
A HUGE place with meerkats all over the place. Instead of lions on the steps, there would be meerkats. I'd even have live meerkats runing about. I'd dress them up in diamond and rhinestone collars and give them huge sandboxes to dig in and acres and tall posts to climb and and several acres of enclosed (so nothing could get them) of outdoor area to play in. A posh palace for meerkats. Better than any zoo.
Meerkats are horrible pets. They go insane if kept alone and need constant social stimulation, they'll ruin your house, give you nasty bites, have trouble breeding in captivity (most of the babies die), and they're illegal to keep as pets, so you can kiss your dream of having pet meerkats goodbye. Oh yeah, and sometimes they kill each other's babies. I hope you like baby meerkat corpses lying around your dream home.
Troll alert! Oh yeah, look at this:
http://www.meerkatsinthehouse.com/home.shtmlFirst of all, you can't even have a pet meerkat in the United States unless you have the proper permits and licenses. Secondly, most meerkats that are kept as pets were taken illegally from the wild. If you really care about meerkats, you'd leave them alone.
Oh, and read the articles linked on
this page.
Delirium wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
I don't think I would have trouble getting permits but anyway I plan to move to the UK or South Africa in the future anyway and have at least one pet meerkat. I kinda only want one anyway so I can keep with me constantaly and take it EVERYWHERE. I wonder if South African or English service animal laws are as lax as they are in the US. I'll probably be a shut in anyway. The crazy old meerkat lady. There are meerkat breeders in the UK and other countires, and besides if I truely had to get a wild one, I'd get a disabled one that couldn't survive in the wild anyway but could still have a decent quality of life in "captvity". Perhaps I'd start a meerkat rescue. Pet tigers, meerkats, etc. seem so much happier than inprisoned ones at zoos.
While you can have a pet meerkat in England and South Africa, they're still a lot of work. They're highly social and will go insane if they're alone, they'll destroy your house, and they aren't really meant to be domesticated. And you can't feed them regular pet food; they have specific dietary needs.
Delirium wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
Ah_Q wrote:
Its also just plain not good for the animals. Seriously, Punkycat, listen to what Delirium is saying, this is good information. If you really care about meerkats, and other animals, then you would oppose the trade of exotic pets. Meerkats do not belong locked in a cage in someone's living room, they belong in the South African wild, among their own kind.
Delirium is being a bully. Meerkats are my main special intrest and I think I would be more than qualified to have one of my own.
No, I'm telling you why having a meerkat as a pet is a bad idea. Not only do they belong in the wild, but pet meerkats are traded illegally and end up being completely miserable in their new homes. You can love your pet meerkat all you want, but it would far prefer to be in the wild with other meerkats. Also, you might even be breaking a law by having one.
Just because you like meerkats doesn't mean you're qualified to have one as a pet. You need an exotic animal license to keep one as a pet in the United States, and you can't just walk into a government office and demand that they give you a license. It's really, really hard to get one.
Delirium wrote:
PunkyKat wrote:
Delirium wrote:
Pobodys_Nerfect wrote:
It's offensive to suggest Punky would trade Meerkats illegally, lock them in cages and not bother to get a license. Assuming she doesn't break the law, who are you to judge?
It's not her specifically. If anybody gets a pet meerkat, they're supporting something illegal. Pet meerkats are taken from the wild and sold to pet stores or individuals, which is against the law and is harmful to the wild meerkat population. Some animals just belong in the wild, and meerkats are one of those animals.
BS! If someone with AS has a special intrest in something, they ARE an expert. Meerkats are my special intrest. The majority of pet meerkats in the UK come from breeders and what if a meerkat is disabled and cannot return to the wild? Do you think it's a good idea to release birds with amputated limbs back into the wild? Instead of basicaly being prisioners like most disabled animals are, why couldn't one be someone's pampered pet? Zoos have meerkats and most zoos do not know a God damb thing about them. If the zoos can have them and not know anything, why can't someone who knows practicaly everything there is to know about meerkats?
1. You're not an expert just because you've read about something. I've read a ton of books on Islam, but I'm not an expert. I've just read a lot about it.
2. Actually, most meerkats are taken from the wild. It's almost impossible to breed meerkats in captivity, since the mothers either abort their fetuses or kill the babies. Living in captivity really takes a toll on them.
3. If a meerkat is disabled and can't go to the wild, it should go to a zoo or a sanctuary for meerkats. The people who work at the zoos and sanctuarites are trained in handling animals. Most people who work there have zoology/biology degrees (or are about to get degrees in those fields) and have taken courses in handling those animals.
4. I can't believe you're in your twenties and you're throwing an e-tantrum because you can't have a meerkat. Stop acting like Veruca Salt and grow up.
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I'm not weird, you're just too normal.
05 Sep 2010, 10:22 pm
