comparethemeerkats.com

[Zoo-Man]

I admit, I want at least a couple of meerkats in the future. Neil, wanna swap 2 meerkats for 2 marmosets? hehe

[quilson_mc_spike]

i agree with the article in some ways but if the breeder of meerkats doesnt reccomend them as pets why is he breeding them for zoo's? unless he is a zoo keeper but then it would say a zoo keeper at X zoo has a breeding progamme blah blah and he says " " now do you get me??

ill watch it again but i cant remember what it says....

also i agree with Neil some people keep huge venomouse snakes that cant be handled they are still at the end of the day a pet ,,, buttons dont like being handled but i still love him he is still my pet.

colin (not picking you out) you have to wear a balaclaver when entering your PET marms cage they do not give you snugggles but they are still you pets ??

[alan66]

But the context is that people are buying them expecting a cute, Alexander style meerkat. This is achievable, we have achieved it.

The more common result is a whirlwind with teeth and a bad attitude.

I agree. If your idea of a pet is something to watch and look after, then fine, but in this instance you need not one, but many. If your idea is a character animal that enjoys a cuddle and sleeps in front of the fire, you are much less likely to get it.

There are numerous success stories, but for each of them I can give you 10 disasters.

Alan

[quilson_mc_spike]

Originally Posted by alan66

But the context is that people are buying them expecting a cute, Alexander style meerkat. This is achievable, we have achieved it.

The more common result is a whirlwind with teeth and a bad attitude.

I agree. If your idea of a pet is something to watch and look after, then fine, but in this instance you need not one, but many. If your idea is a character animal that enjoys a cuddle and sleeps in front of the fire, you are much less likely to get it.

There are numerous success stories, but for each of them I can give you 10 disasters.

Alan

right yeah thats what i meant though....

i do agree and dissagree with it,,, i agree meerkats are not what they show on the telly but you would think they would guess that, right?? nahh im dreaming everything gets its bad press look at the recent hedgehog press and the skunks press and glider press even rats bad press

suppose it has more to agree with than to dissagree on but yes i do see it differently but im not one of the idiots that think if i get a meerkat im gunna have a teddy bear so tbh i find it pointless but thats just the way i see things

[Zoo-Man]

Originally Posted by quilson_mc_spike

i agree with the article in some ways but if the breeder of meerkats doesnt reccomend them as pets why is he breeding them for zoo's? unless he is a zoo keeper but then it would say a zoo keeper at X zoo has a breeding progamme blah blah and he says " " now do you get me??

ill watch it again but i cant remember what it says....

also i agree with Neil some people keep huge venomouse snakes that cant be handled they are still at the end of the day a pet ,,, buttons dont like being handled but i still love him he is still my pet.

colin (not picking you out) you have to wear a balaclaver when entering your PET marms cage they do not give you snugggles but they are still you pets ??

Connor, I only wear a balaclava, etc when I go in the aviary when my pair have young babies.

But yes, my adult marmosets are not handleable as in cuddly, but yes they are my pets & I love them.

[quilson_mc_spike]

Originally Posted by Zoo-Man

Connor, I only wear a balaclava, etc when I go in the aviary when my pair have young babies.

But yes, my adult marmosets are not handleable as in cuddly, but yes they are my pets & I love them.

yeah but still that doesnt defy the point you have had to and will have to do it at some point.,..

[Zoo-Man]

Originally Posted by quilson_mc_spike

yeah but still that doesnt defy the point you have had to and will have to do it at some point.,..

Yeah...

[animalsbeebee]

I dont know where you have all been getting your meerkats from,i had a group of four and they were never aggresive in 9 years,maybe i was lucky.The only really nasty one was one i hand reared(buried by mother),and that was fantastic with the owners but evil with anyone else.In realistic terms there are hardly hundreds of meerkats offered for sale anyway,so its not like nip down to local pet shop and buy one for a fiver.It is yet another case of a self appointed expert telling what can and cannot be kept by private people.Every animal should be kept correctly,but you will always get the ones that are not,even some animals not on display in zoos are not housed correctly,but the general public dont get to see that.

[SilverSteno]

I think this article is more for the fear that there is going to be a repeat of Nemo, 101 dalmations etc where people saw a cute animal on TV and thought "I want one" without even considering if they could even take care of that animal and as a result many ended up dead/abandoned, not to mention the damage the boost in clownfish trade after Finding Nemo did to wild clownfish populations! Fotunately as meerkats are not easy to get hold of there is unlikely to be much of a case of that but there are always some people out there that are looking to make easy money out of exploiting the "in" critter without a care for the welfare of the animal.

I think getting the information out there - that a meerkat isn't like a dog or a cat or a rat is a good thing to be doing, and I think more proactive action like this should be taken when there is a risk that a movie or something on the TV may result in people wanting something that they may not be able to care for. Or at the very least, get them to look at the requirements that animal needs and then considering if they can cater for that animals needs.

[Twiglet]

Originally Posted by SilverSteno

I think this article is more for the fear that there is going to be a repeat of Nemo, 101 dalmations etc where people saw a cute animal on TV and thought "I want one" without even considering if they could even take care of that animal and as a result many ended up dead/abandoned, not to mention the damage the boost in clownfish trade after Finding Nemo did to wild clownfish populations! Fotunately as meerkats are not easy to get hold of there is unlikely to be much of a case of that but there are always some people out there that are looking to make easy money out of exploiting the "in" critter without a care for the welfare of the animal.

I think getting the information out there - that a meerkat isn't like a dog or a cat or a rat is a good thing to be doing, and I think more proactive action like this should be taken when there is a risk that a movie or something on the TV may result in people wanting something that they may not be able to care for. Or at the very least, get them to look at the requirements that animal needs and then considering if they can cater for that animals needs.

As with everything, none of the above would ever become such a problem if only the people (breeders/shops/whatever) doing the selling bothered to ensure that the persons taking on the animal were capable of their upkeep.
THAT to me is the main issue.
Its got nothing to do whith what species can and cant be kept in private hands and everything to do with the right information being given out at the time.
I quite agree that animals such as meerkats (or any animal for that matter) should never be bought on a whim because there was a cute one on tv (and I saw first hand the result of finding nemo... If i EVER have to hear another person ask me if they can buy a nemo to go with their goldfish or live in their pond I'm in danger of spontaneous combustion....)
Anyway.. if the sellers did their job properly in the first place there would be far less risk of animals ending up in inexperienced or incapable hands.
Its up to them (in my opinion) to ensure that a potential buyer has already got a suitable enclosure, has done their research, has the capability to look after the animal etc etc.

Just my opinion.

Kat