Exotic pet owners who can no longer care for their pets should never release their pets into the wild to avoid damaging the local ecosystem or putting their pet's life at risk.

 Doctor Laura McKenney of the Animal Health Centre in Airdrie says that putting an animal that is not used to the trials of life outdoors is dangerous for the creature.

"First of all, there's a risk to the animal. This may not be their native habitat. A lot of reptiles maybe aren't from here so if you release them, they might just die. Other animals might out-compete native species. They might occupy an ecological niche that belongs to an animal that's native to the area. In the case of domestic rabbits, they might just overpopulate and just become a pest almost. There can be hundreds of them. There are concerns with animal numbers and the safety of the pet that's been released and out-competing and creating harm to the animals that are native here and struggling to survive."

Exotic pets are pets that don't live in our climate or habitat, so rarely do they survive the harsh winter or the lack of humidity. However, in the unlikely situation that an animal survives, it could also have dire consequences for the delicate ecosystem where it now resides.

"It's a common concern when a non-native species is released into a new environment. If there's no predator to really check their numbers, then they can steal all the food and out-compete the native species. This happens countless times. The classic examples are the frogs and rabbits in Australia, (because) there are no native predators for them and they have real problems with that," warns McKenney. "On a smaller scale, a good example here would be the freshwater crayfish that aren't native here. Certain birds are pretty invasive here as well and that makes it tough for the local species. That happens quite often. Usually, ecology is a complex web of relationships and when you throw a newcomer in there that has no history in the area, it usually causes an imbalance in the system."

McKenney advises future pet owners to research before deciding to adopt an exotic pet.

"Definitely do your research. The humane societies can be a really good source of information for that because they usually have exotic pets that have been surrendered and you can learn a lot from them in terms of what is the care and what is the cost involved with looking after these animals. For example, iguanas: those animals are from Aruba, so they're from a hot, humid climate which this area is neither. So to recreate that environment artificially takes a lot of time and the equipment and setup are expensive. You kind of need to know what you're doing or these animals become sick. Probably 80 percent of the reasons they come to see the vet is because there's a husbandry issue."

In the unfortunate situation where an owner is no longer able to care for a pet, McKenney says to never release them and to contact your local humane societies.

"Contact (you're) humane societies. That's a really good resource to direct them on how to rehome the pet. I caution people against posting adds on Kijiji because there's no selection process there as to who's a suitable owner, it's just out there publicly to the world rather than potential owners being screened for suitability. Contact your local humane society or animal shelter or maybe you know of a friend or family member that would be interested in adopting from you. That would be preferable. But, I wouldn't just release them into the wild, that's harmful to the wild and it's setting that pet up for failure."

 

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