Thông tin tài liệu
464 R Sollund Even if animals survive their abduction and transport, there is no guarantee that they will receive proper treatment—that is, be given adequate food and shelter, stimuli, company, room for exercise—once they reach their final destination In South America, captured birds are often left to die of malnutrition because they can be easily replaced In Norway, pet owners not need to demonstrate to sellers that they are capable of giving an animal proper care and attention (Sollund 2013c) There is a requirement in the Norwegian Animal welfare act’s § about competence in animal keeping for those who shall take over an animal;12 however, private owners selling or giving away their animals and the people who take them on are not controlled So, for instance, traumatized birds, who are also fed with the wrong food, are victims of abuse because of the damage this does to their physical and mental health In the case of reptiles, transport often proves very harmful They are often trafficked in boxes and sent from their habitat to Europe by mail/package service As many originate in Indonesia, the journey is long and many die in transit or shortly after arriving (see Herbig 2010) In the numerous penal cases I examined that concern reptiles, photos and the description of how the reptiles are kept confirm that they endure less than ideal living conditions, such as being contained in small, bare glass boxes while in transit This constitutes suffering because naturally many reptile species roam great distances and have needs in regards to physical movement and also the mental stimulation they get from finding food In one case, the offenders explained to the police that they took over a boa snake for a friend, and it was evident from what they said that care for the animal was of low priority Offenders pose in pictures with the snakes wrapped around their bodies, thus using them as artefacts to display some sort of status, perhaps related to masculinity ideals, rather than caring for the animals involved Paradoxically, what may add to the inadequate care reptiles receive is the fact that because it is illegal to keep them in Norway, partly for animal welfare reasons, owners are hesitant to bring them to a veterinarian because they are afraid they will be reported, and when they do, veterinarians not always provide adequate treatment because they lack experience, while others refuse to treat them entirely It must be emphasized though, that many reptile keepers care for their animals and try to provide living conditions for their pets which they find appropriate (interview data) Still, the question remains whether any ‘wild’ 12 According to § 6, animal keepers must ensure animals are adequately taken care of, no children under 16 shall have an independent responsibility for an animal, and the animal keeper must not transfer the responsibility for the animal to someone for whom it is reason to believe will not treat the animal in a responsible way https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2009-06-19-97
Ngày đăng: 24/10/2022, 10:45
Xem thêm:
