Our View

By:

Shandra Jordan – editor in chief

Colleen Buhrer – Managing editor

J.J. Babb – Design managing editor

Willow Welter – Visual editor

Kyle Endres – campus editor

Patrick Crossland – state and regional editor

Roy Horn, of the infamous duo Siegfried and Roy, was attacked

Friday night by a 600-plus-pound white tiger being used during a

show at the MGM Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

The show has been the Mirage’s main attraction since it began in

1990, and the hotel also features lions and tigers at its Secret

Garden attraction.

While Roy recuperates, the question must be asked whether large,

undomesticated animals like tigers and lions belong in

entertainment or pet positions, no matter how well they are

treated.

Any animal, but especially wild animals, can be unpredictable in

certain situations.

There are several bills in a variety of state legislatures and

some in the federal legislature that would regulate the ownership

of exotic animals in some way. The most restrictive federal bill is

the captive wildlife safety act, which “Bars the interstate and

foreign commerce of dangerous exotics-including lions, tigers,

leopards, cheetahs, jaguars and cougars-for use as pets. The bill

would not ban all private ownership of prohibited species; rather,

it would outlaw the commerce of these animals for use as pets,”

according to the Humane Society of the United States’ Web site.

The bill has currently passed committees in both the House of

Representatives and the Senate. However, based on the fates of

similar bills in states and the federal legislature, it doesn’t

seem promising that this will make it into law.

Animals that are plucked from their natural homes, be they

lions, elephants or tropical fish, do not thrive as they could in

their natural habitat. Sure, maybe they don’t attack their owners

(although they occasionally do) and maybe they’re given a warm

place to sleep, but these are not like your family kitty. They are

different and don’t deserve to be misplaced from their homes. The

editorial board urges readers who have feelings on this to write

your Senators and Representatives, both at state and national

levels, and encourage them to vote in favor of restrictions on the

ownership and sale of exotic animals as pets.

Shandra, Colleen, J.J. and Willow are all members or

contributors to either the Humane Society of the United States or

the Larimer Humane Society.