Rating: 
Summary: Really an eye-opener! Must read!!!
Review: One reads about cruelty to animals everywhere but the research behind the book makes this an exceptional document. Not for the faint-hearted, read this book if you are ready for the gory details about so-called legitimate agencies, as well as the shady entities, dealing in extic-animal trade.
Rating: 
Summary: The Only Good Pet Monkey is a Pet Sea Monkey
Review: There is no doubt that there is a huge, lucrative, underground trade in exotics, and that many of the people involved in it are unethical scumbags. Of course, not ALL individuals who own exotic pets are nasty: some of them are conscientious and care enough to be well-informed about the species they choose to own.
But the author of this book provides an important service to the public. Green sheds light into the dark corners of the exotics business, part of which involves shuffling zoo and research animals to canned hunt facilities or roadside petting zoos. It all works through middlemen who assure legitimate keepers that their surplus animals are going to qualified handlers, when in fact they are often laundered through pet auctions or given to animal collectors who abandon them at the first sign of difficult behavior or ill health.Take monkeys and apes. They're cute and smart, but mishandling can create a strong, deranged primate that will pose very real risks to anyone not familiar with their needs. Also, they harbor all kinds of diseases that are a direct threat to public health, and some that haven't jumped the species barrier yet but, in the future, may do so. Hardly any sanctuaries exist that can care for them once they are no longer needed for research or public display. What should we, as a society that frowns on animal cruelty, do for them? Anyone who is interested in exotics, animal-based research, or even visiting the zoo should read this book. Yes, Green almost exclusively discusses the creepy side of the issue. But he also describes some very ethically-run sancutaries and some individuals in the zoo and research sectors who truly care for their charges' welfare. As for owning exotic pets, I personally think there are some people who actually are qualified to do so. Who decides those qualifications? That's another issue. Also, "exotics" include everything from hedgehogs and sugar gliders to tigers and the great apes. I've owned the former two, and found them to be sweet little companion animals. (But if someone offered me a giraffe, I'm afraid I would have to decline.) Not all exotics are totally inappropriate for all people. But some exotics are totally inappropriate for most people. I do think that certain surplus zoo animals should be euthanized rather than forced to live out their remaining years in misery. I also think that the surplus itself should be examined: why aren't certain species more aggressively sterilized? And, I think all zoo and research animals should be microchipped so that they can be tracked once they leave their original home.
Green isn't afraid to name names and cite specific examples of cruelty. I know there are readers who are angry about what he wrote, and dispute his findings, but they haven't countered with any specifics that undermine this book. If any of his critics can prove that the incidents Green discusses didn't happen, then I'd like to hear about it.
Rating:
Summary: The Only Good Pet Monkey is a Pet Sea Monkey
Review: There is no doubt that there is a huge, lucrative, underground trade in exotics, and that many of the people involved in it are unethical scumbags. Of course, not ALL individuals who own exotic pets are nasty: some of them are conscientious and care enough to be well-informed about the species they choose to own.
But the author of this book provides an important service to the public. Green sheds light into the dark corners of the exotics business, part of which involves shuffling zoo and research animals to canned hunt facilities or roadside petting zoos. It all works through middlemen who assure legitimate keepers that their surplus animals are going to qualified handlers, when in fact they are often laundered through pet auctions or given to animal collectors who abandon them at the first sign of difficult behavior or ill health. Take monkeys and apes. They're cute and smart, but mishandling can create a strong, deranged primate that will pose very real risks to anyone not familiar with their needs. Also, they harbor all kinds of diseases that are a direct threat to public health, and some that haven't jumped the species barrier yet but, in the future, may do so. Hardly any sanctuaries exist that can care for them once they are no longer needed for research or public display. What should we, as a society that frowns on animal cruelty, do for them? Anyone who is interested in exotics, animal-based research, or even visiting the zoo should read this book. Yes, Green almost exclusively discusses the creepy side of the issue. But he also describes some very ethically-run sancutaries and some individuals in the zoo and research sectors who truly care for their charges' welfare. As for owning exotic pets, I personally think there are some people who actually are qualified to do so. Who decides those qualifications? That's another issue. Also, "exotics" include everything from hedgehogs and sugar gliders to tigers and the great apes. I've owned the former two, and found them to be sweet little companion animals. (But if someone offered me a giraffe, I'm afraid I would have to decline.) Not all exotics are totally inappropriate for all people. But some exotics are totally inappropriate for most people. I do think that certain surplus zoo animals should be euthanized rather than forced to live out their remaining years in misery. I also think that the surplus itself should be examined: why aren't certain species more aggressively sterilized? And, I think all zoo and research animals should be microchipped so that they can be tracked once they leave their original home.
Green isn't afraid to name names and cite specific examples of cruelty. I know there are readers who are angry about what he wrote, and dispute his findings, but they haven't countered with any specifics that undermine this book. If any of his critics can prove that the incidents Green discusses didn't happen, then I'd like to hear about it.
Rating:
Summary: This should be mandatory reading!
Review: This book reads like a documentary film. It is quick and to the point. It will shake the foundation of what you have perceived to be "good" in the business of animals. Do the zoos pander to the public to give them "babies" every season? Or does the public accept what zoos tell us as the way it is supposed to be? This book should be mandatory reading for anyone in the animal business (zookeepers, directors, zoo visitors, pet shop owners, dealers, USDA staff, vets, etc) and that includes just about everyone breathing air. Your stomach will churn with vivid accounts of what happens to our precious fuzzy critters. This book shows what determined detective work will uncover, and that is the ugly truth of the animal underworld.
Rating:
Summary: Grim Reminder...
Review: This book was a grim reminder of how even the most good intensions can be exploited for greed and power. This book was thought provoking-as a veterinary technician in South Florida, this book had a power punch aimed right at my state-we are so lax on our exotic pet laws, and I recognised many names in this book! A must read for anyone trully dedicated to know the truth behind exotic animals, where they come from, and where they ae destined to go once they fall from grace. I myself have many exotic pets, all with appropriate permits, but found it disgusting how these animals I hold dear may have entered this world, and what their inteded uses may have been!
Rating:
Summary: A must read for the true animal lover!!
Review: This book was incredible!!! I couldn't put it down. Real life reporting about the treatment of the most endangered animals in the world and what our government does about it. A shocking eye opener about a favorite past time....visiting the zoo. It changes the way you see these places and the animals trapped inside them. This book makes you want to get out and do something for these creatures.
Rating:
Summary: A SHAME that I want no part of
Review: This book will open your eyes!!! Shame on zoos for feeding us
bull.... about the "great" conservation works that their doing and for letting us believe that the cute little animals that we ohh and ahh at are NOT being saved and will NOT really live out their lives safe in that zoo. I ordered this book because I'm building an educational and vocational campus for children that will have a small breeding zoo and I thought the book would help me locate the animals we needed. I had planned to donate the baby animals we raised to zoos...but instead this book has caused the development of strict organizational policies and programs to ensure the life-long safety of our animals.
How could we do anything less for animals that trust us and depend on us?
It's a MUST READ book, but be prepared for strong feelings...your own!
Rating:
Summary: A SHAME that I want no part of
Review: This book will open your eyes!!! Shame on zoos for feeding us
bull.... about the "great" conservation works that their doing and for letting us believe that the cute little animals that we ohh and ahh at are NOT being saved and will NOT really live out their lives safe in that zoo. I ordered this book because I'm building an educational and vocational campus for children that will have a small breeding zoo and I thought the book would help me locate the animals we needed. I had planned to donate the baby animals we raised to zoos...but instead this book has caused the development of strict organizational policies and programs to ensure the life-long safety of our animals.
How could we do anything less for animals that trust us and depend on us?
It's a MUST READ book, but be prepared for strong feelings...your own!
Rating:
Summary: Unimaginable
Review: This was the first book that I had read on animal rights, but I was absolutely blown away with the information the author presented. It is unbelievable that the types of cruelty of what is told in this book actually takes place, every day. Why is it so easy to obtain required licences throughout this country, and why is little done to prevent further exploitation? And why don't zoos have a craddle to grave policy with the animals they are entrusted with? Overall, I feel that this book should be required reading for ANYONE who is interested in animals, or is even concidering caring for an exotic animal.
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