SPCA says it’s unethical to keep exotic animals as pets

The Sandton SPCA said though it was legal to keep exotic animals as pets, it was unethical.

The SPCA inspected the Family Pet Centre at Fourways Crossing recently after receiving a complaint concerning a ‘crocodile being kept in a tank’.

Upon his visit to the store, inspector Xolane Mncube said he found a caiman alligator confined to a glass tank. The tank was about 2m in length and 1.2m in width and height, and also contained live fish.

The SPCA said the inspection revealed that there were two animal welfare issues at play.

Firstly, the keeping of live prey with captive predators which contravenes the Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962. “The feeding of live prey to an animal in confined space with no chance of escape and the resulting extreme levels of distress is not legal,” explained Mncube.

A warning was subsequently issued to the responsible shop employee along with an instruction to immediately liberate the fish. The second, more complex, issue is that the SPCA is opposed to the keeping of wild animals in captivity, especially where the specific needs of those animals are not met.

Mncube said in this case, the alligator was assessed to be in good physical health and the condition of the tank met minimum standards in terms of size and enrichment provision.

While the SPCA is opposed to the keeping of the alligator in the confines of a tank, there are no governing regulations to allow the SPCA to enforce this viewpoint.

“The SPCA can only act in terms of the Animal Protection Act 71 of 1962 and, as such, in this case, there is unfortunately nothing that can be done about Family Pet Centre’s caiman alligator,” said Mncube.

“Exotic animals in captivity still retain their wild instinct and in most cases require very specialised care with extensive knowledge of the species and of the required equipment, food and environment set up.”

Senior inspector at Sandton SPCA Stephen Maila said just because exotic animals were bred in captivity, it did not make it right. “As society evolves, we hope that new generations will be educated that the welfare of an animal is beyond what you see in a pet store. We, as the SPCA, want to educate the public that most animals in pet stores do not experience the kind of freedom that they would have in their natural habitat.

“Until the laws are amended to reflect this, the best we can do is regularly visit pet shops to check that the minimum standards are met,” added Maila.

The chief executive of the Family Pet Centre group Renier Strydom said, “Family Pet Centre has a sizable team of trained professionals permanently on staff and in-house veterinarians available 24 hours a day. We can therefore state with confidence that Clive [the caiman alligator] is receiving the best care available.”

Strydom added that the centre welcomed the visit of the SPCA. “In this specific instance, the inspector was not familiar with the particular species, their feeding habits or the required enclosure size. We were happy to explain the above in detail to the satisfaction of the inspector.”

He claimed that the caiman alligator at the store was bred in captivity and was held domestically all over the world. “Family Pet Centre have researched the most practical, comfortable and ideal way to hold Clive and will continue to ensure that Clive is healthy and mentally enriched.”

Strydom said the alligator played an important role in educating young visitors to the store.