More Tigers in Private Collections Then In the Wild

Husky_Khan

The Dog Whistler... I mean Whisperer.
Founder
Sotnik

So apparently private collectors in the United States and Europe have 7000 and 1600 Tigers in captivity, while there are just under 4000 left in the wild (with most of those being in India). And who knows what the stats are for countries in East Asia and the like. While the report cited discusses Europe mostly, the widespread abuse, exploitation and often harvesting of Tigers and other 'exotic animals' is touched upon in regards to America as well. The problem isn't just limited to the exploitation and breeding of animals in captivity either, but also still being used to fuel a demand for wild animals as well. Plus the ongoing issues of captive animals largely incapable of being rehabilitated into the wild.


I'm no expert on animals in general, but it does seem weird to me just how sprivate collections of 'exotic animals' that are often big and dangerous and clearly in the category of incapable of being domesticated are so pervasive in the United States and apparently Europe as well. And I'm not talking about Wildlife Sanctuaries or keeping cool Spiders or reptiles or snakes or something either (though having yuge Nile Monitor Lizards and Burmese Pythons in the Florida Everglades is an issue as well). Is there some sort of upside I'm missing here? I didn't have any interesting in watching Tiger King so I have no expertise on this issue. :p
 

The Immortal Watch Dog

Well-known member
Hetman
I'm still in favor of letting elephants and big cats run wild in the US.

Tigers vs. wild boar seems like a grand idea to me.

There's compelling evidence that doing a Pleistocene rewilding of Elephants in the US would do wonders for our ecology.

I mean, they (and other highly endangered exotic animals) don't have much of a future in East Asia, what with the Chinese demand for turning exotic animals into "traditional" medicines (that aren't actually traditional or a medicine).

 

The Immortal Watch Dog

Well-known member
Hetman
Really? Can you remember in what ways more specifically?

For starters millions of tons of mastodon shit is one of the reasons why the great plains were so fertile that they became breeding grounds for the Bison that made it so verdant.

Mammoths were also integral to our forests and farmland for the same reason.

Let's also not forget that jaguars, cheetahs, lions and hyenas competed with wolves and bears and ot kept the populations of deer and other prey animals in line that probably kept the spread of wasting disease to a minimum.

Tldr- unlike Efrika and Asia giant herbivore shit and dead animals basically terraformed places like Argentina and the US into the Edens and titanic bread baskets they are today
 

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