USGE reptiles, about 500, are headed for Phoenix. And they should arrive just in time for the BIG annual fund raiser! “This year's theme is Mardi Gras and the party will really be on! With Vegas-Style Gambling Tables, Tarot Card Readings, Auctions, a Grand Prize Raffle and more. Plus, you'll get to meet the animals and enjoy a private showing of the Komodo Dragon Exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo. So, come on out for drinks, food and fun.” (I suggest steel toed boots for the Komodo exhibit.)
“We have other animals available for adoption besides personal pets.” But clearly their usual mode is adopting out animals as pets. Or should I say “selling”? Here’s what it says for most of the animals that are available: “Dependent on size of animal. Call for pricing and availability.” Turtles go for $15-50 and Iguanas are “$35 and up”. Adoption my ass!
“The haul included dozens of pythons, king snakes, spiders and lizards.” “One cage has a pile of 50 Chinese water dragons.” "These guys are in really poor shape," said PHS Director Russ Johnson. "These are little savannah monitors and they're very, very skinny." Once they can be checked out by a veterinarian and deemed healthy, they will be available for adoption.
They’ve been with SPCA of Texas for nearly 8 weeks. Did SPCAT not feed them enough? Surely they should have gotten them back up to weight in 7 weeks! What happened to all those experts they supposedly had helping out, including veterinarians? Wasn’t old Clifford able to give even adequate feeding advice or is it now clear he can’t keep animals alive in captivity? Did these creatures not get seen by vets while at SPCAT for 7 weeks even though that was one of SPCAT’s and the City of Arlington’s big gripes against U.S. Global Exotics?
And a “pile” of animals? Now who piled them in a cage like that? Surely not SPCAT!
"These are non-lethal animals and many will be qualified to be pets for kids," Johnson said.
They haven't put anything special on their website about the USGE animals so it appears they'll be going through the usual sales process. At least they’re making no bones about their intentions, no pretending that the animals came with strings attached!
What a sweet deal. Set up a “rescue”, get your animals for free (often even charging those who turn animals in or, better yet, get them seized and force the former owner to pay for it ALL and at inflated prices), get people to give you money to care for them, then sell them and call it adoption. You can undercut the prices of commercial dealers, provide better care, pay no taxes, and LOOK good while getting public sympathy and kudos. But pull back the curtain and...
There are real rescue groups out there but many, MANY, of them are running just this kind of scam. They are commercial dealers hiding behind a rescue sign and it sure looks like they’re coming out of the woodwork to get their “hauls” of USGE assets. I couldn’t be happier that the public is getting a chance to see how these seizures simply redistribute property for the benefit of others under a “feel good” sign. I’m getting tired of seeing people’s property effectively stolen by governments for redistribution!
I hope the creditors and customers of USGE get together, gang up, and sue the pants off of the City of Arlington, SPCAT, HSNT, and every other person or entity that was involved in this as I’m pretty sure those very probably interested parties didn’t get proper notice of any of this. And then there's the distinct possibility of civil rights violations in the way USGE and its owners were treated and that can come with some hefty damage awards. We can hope and pray this jumbleF bankrupts Arlington out of its abusive ways towards animal owners.