Are pet reptiles "enslaved"

[Drago]

I have recently stumbled upon a heated discussion on whether keeping reptiles is ethical or not. One interesting point that was brought up was that "we keep pets as our slaves, and we believe their only purpose is to serve us." I however, feel that in truth, owning pets is quite the contrary (now don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are people out there that don't treat their pets as family companions and thus could earn the award of owning pets as slaves, but this is not the majority) as I spend nearly two hours a day on feeding and watering my animals as well as spot cleaning, and an upwards of 4-5 hours on weekends for cleaning out enclosures, and I know that some pet owners out there spend even more than that daily and on weekends. I also know that in general, pet owners spend a good chunk of their income to provide the best care possible. After taking all this into consideration, to me at least, it would appear that it is the guardians of these animals that are more so the slaves than the animals themselves. What do you guys think? All opinions are appreciated and I certainly enjoy learning about both sides of an argument!

 

[IrishEyes]

I know, older thread, but since no one jumped in, I'll add my 2 cents. Consider this a "bump" .

I think the "pets as slaves" people are hardcore animal rights activists who go by the "better dead than fed" mantra. PETA, HSUS, etc. They're loud, outspoken, willing to give horrendous amounts of money to those two essentially lobbying bodies (plus other, smaller AR groups), and they bring in more supporters daily by using a campaign often composed of misinformation or outright lies.

I wish I could say, "ignore them and they'll go away", but that's actually the perfect way to have them gain power and eventually deny pet owners of any kind of animal their right to keep them.

As for the care regimen, I totally agree. I spend almost all day, every day caring for our zoo (reptiles, amphibians, parrots, and dogs). If we go on vacation, I hire someone knowledgeable about their care for $1000/wk, with several times/daily reports about their welfare. Proper care of the animals while we're away is budgeted right into the vacation budget. No way in hey my "pets" (actually, family members) are "slaves". I'm the slave to THEIR wants and needs!

 

[Geecko123]

Personally we are kind of helping them, pet stores keep on breeding and inporting them so either they sit in a small cage and die or people come along and buy them, although sometimes they aren't treated the best.

 

[GeckoLeen]

USARK - United States Association of Reptile Keepers

Keepers Code of Ethics: https://usark.org/code-of-ethics/

 

[Goz]

In my way of thinking,that's just absurd and it comes from the anti pet activists (we know who they are.)
Recently I read that fire ants have made it to New Caledonia and are killing the geckos,so my two cents worth here is we are doing them a service by preventing possible extinction due to invasive species and global warming.

 

[Digs]

What exactly do we “en-slave” them to do? If anything it’s us the owners who are the slaves, spending money and time on the animals without any real work on their part.