“Thousands of exotic animals [from U.S. Global Exotics] are making a road trip to Detroit. SPCA of Texas has arranged for different groups — including the Detroit Zoo — to take control of the animals and insects…” And the Detroit Zoo goes on my pro-PETA, not to be trusted or supported list.
There’s a photo album for us to peruse. Scroll through the pictures. Tell me, are they moving the exotics while it’s dark outside? They in their layers and jackets while the animals sit in the van, in the cold, with the bay door open for the photo op?
Turtles, LOTS of them in a single container, crawling all over each other! Check out the STACKS of teeny tiny containers. They looked cramped to me, poor dears.
No doubt the hedgehogs have long since hit the road, disbursed to who knows where to become quickly breeding personal pets and yet an ongoing fund raiser for HWS as well.
WildRescue, Inc. will be picking hundreds of animals from the Dallas SPCA on Monday, Feb. 8th. We are going to be taking on animals such as toads, leopard geckos, dozens of species of snakes, lizards, hamsters, turtles, and tree frogs. For this we will need lots of supplies that we don't usually have on hand. If anyone has this stuff lying around at home, or wouldn't mind going out to a store to get it and donate it to us, we could certainly use it here! (Posted in the "volunteers" section, looks "miscategorized" to me.)
Mind you that this is a group that admittedly has little (if any) experience with the types of exotics they are taking them in for life. They generally handle rabbit rescue and some native wildlife rescue for re-release to the wild. “The majority of that wildlife is the eastern cottontail (our most fragile mammal), the fox squirrel, and the Virginia opossum.” With about 80 in residence on a regular basis and having to advertise for volunteers just to keep that going. And this in the donations request: “Pinkies & fuzzies - Yes, dead baby mice. Unfortunately this is the wonderful world of feeding snakes” Aw, yes, the bunny hoppers having to feed “pinkies & fuzzies” to the snakes; sure that’s going to happen for years to come; don’t think so. (Hint for you: Some snakes like their food still ALIVE.) Hm, under funded, trying to get equipment and food donated in under 4 days, and going from under 100 animals to thousands in a single day. I suspect “for life” won’t be for long for these critters; unless they're planning on "adopting" (selling) them out.
I love this statement: “You will receive a special donation receipt with the dollar amount you specify so you can use it on your taxes.” I might just have to send that to an old friend at the IRS because that just ain’t how you’re supposed to determine the FMV of the donation receipt.
A while back in a case involving dead horses, some activist was blathering about how easy it is for an owner to get help with for/with animals and comments like that make me scream because it’s a blatant lie. Most of these “humane” groups severely limit the number of animals they “save” and these days they clearly prefer to take in animals from seizures so they can use them to boost their income. If you or I struggle to care for the animals, we’re scum; if they go a-begging for supplies while taking in animals they don’t have funding, equipment, or resources to provide for the animals, they consider themselves “rescuers”. IMO, that’s straight up covetous hoarding by another name. These USGE animals would have gone to people who wanted them enough to buy them and provide for them; now most are headed into the hands of inexperienced lay volunteers as freebie pets and to be used for fund raising to line NPO pockets; provided they can survive the care of more lay volunteers and provided those groups can get what they need and don’t get bored or overwhelmed…
And don’t forget that SPCA of Texas has NOT provided an update on how many even survived their care or how many they killed in the last month. We certainly will NEVER see a list of all the individuals and organizations now taking the animals in; nor any updates on them and their care.