A matter of opinion?

[Hypancistrus]

I am a little digusted with the reptile site I frequent at the moment.

I responded to a thread a few days back in which a person new to the hobby, living in NY City said that they had to evacuate their apartment building due to a kitchen fire in another unit. They grabbed their dog and cat and a few snakes but couldn't take the anoles, so they just opened the cages and let them go free in hopes they could escape. Turns out it was a false alarm and they were only outside for 30 minutes. When they got back all three lizards were gone. They found one the next morning but haven't found the other two.

I made what I though was a very gentle comment that said "Sorry to hear this happened to you, it sounds like a bad situation all around. But I don't think it was wise to release your lizards, especially with the bad publicity that captive reptile releases have been getting in the news lately. I know you are new to the reptile hobby and you seem really enthusiastic- take a look at some of the problems being caused by released non-native animals."

I am now being blasted for being insensitive and accused of not loving my animals enough because I would NOT under any circumstances just set them free to "save" them.

I am completely and utterly baffled by this.

I know it's just three anoles and the New York winter will likely kill them, but does that justify it? Is it better for an animal to starve and freeze to death slowly when it is released, or to die in a fire (or in this case, to NOT die in a fire)? Neither one is good... but what is the lesser of two evils? What of your responsibilities to not just your animal, but to the hobby as a whole and to your neighbors? One person even said that the dog kennel they worked at has a policy that any animals that cannot be safely removed on leashes in an emergency should be turned loose.

All I can think about when I read that is how I would feel if my beautiful Golden boy, Riley, was turned loose on the streets of Baltimore to be burned by punks in the park, hit by a car on a city street or worse yet... picked up by a gang and used to bait pit bulls with his mouth taped shut. Even writing it gives me nightmares. Either way it's a bad thing... but I'd truly rather know that Riley died in a fire, and grieve his loss, than to have him missing and not know where he is or what is happening to him.

Does this make me a bad person? I am looking at him now and I really don't think it does. I look at my snakes and know that if I had to make that choice, it would be part of the responsibilities of being a snake keeper... allowing an animal to go loose on purpose is just NOT the responsible thing to do......

 

[Birdbabe]

I dont have herps, but your not a bad person. Some people are just too sensitive. Its never wise to release a captive animal into the "great outdoors" no matter what it is and for any reason.. Just my opinion.

 

[Danita]

Gosh, both scenarios don't sit well with me, who knows what I would do in that split second of making a decision.

 

[Sharpie]

I don't think you're insensitive at all. I don't know what I think in regards to turning an animal loose or leaving it though. My dogs and cat I would loose, because where I live, odds are I'd find them again with little trouble. The birds.... not as much.

 

[LuvMyBirds]

Another reason we all need to write down and commit to memory exactly the sequence of what we would do in an emergency.

Maybe after the crisis has leveled out the people will think about and understand where you were coming from. Trying to teach the right thing unfortunately has to come at the wrong time sometimes.

 

[Stevo]

Maybe if you cant evacuate all your pets in an emergency it's a sign that you have too many pets???

 

[waterfaller1]

That is why I recently got everyone a carrier or cage. I thought...geez..what if I had to get them out quickly? {fire,hurricane,etc} They all have big cages so they would perish. So my spare bathroom is now a storage room for smaller cages{it's right next to the bird room}
Do not worry about what people say or do not understand. I am going to go out on a limb and say most are likely quite young people. No animal once it lives in captivity, be it fish,bird,reptile, whatever, should be 'turned loose'. You run so many risks, particularly to native animals. Though in this case as you said, they most likely wouldn't have survived. I feel sorry for the person who lost his critters, he probably did feel he was doing the right thing to save them. Stick by what you believe is right though, that's what is most important.