Recently, the 3-meter-long pet snake in the home of Aunt Zhou of Hangzhou Yueqi Meiyu Community fled, alarming the local police and fire protection, and the people in the community were panicked for a while. On the day of the escape, the snake was captured in the community. Currently, the pet python has been transferred to the zoo. According to Aunt Zhou, this pet snake was bought by her son from the flower and bird market more than a decade ago, and can eat ten quails in one meal.
In addition to pet pythons, Red Star News reporters learned that in recent years, there have been scorpions, ants, centipedes, spiders and other alternative "poisonous pets" appearing on the e-commerce platform. Every year, people are bitten by these alternative pets and admitted to the hospital. In 2020, a 13-year-old teenager was bitten into the ICU by a poisonous snake purchased online and almost lost his life. What are the potential hazards of these pets? What should we pay attention to when buying pets?
These "strange" pets that were intercepted
Chills down people's backs
(1) Pythons
Pictured according to The City Express
On March 26, 2020, a 3-meter-long golden yellow python in a community in Hangzhou fell to its death from more than 20 floors. The owner of the snake confessed that there was not enough space in the box for it to move, so he simply raised the golden python in the room. Because the window had not been closed after falling asleep the night before, the python slipped out of the window and accidentally fell to its death.
On Taobao, a Search by a Red Star News reporter found that a shop selling pet snakes and feeding boxes showed that its monthly sales were 24. Red Star News contacted the store customer service, and the pop-up reply said: Taobao only sells breeding boxes, if you need to buy pets, you need to add WeChat. But in the "Baby Evaluation" column, many customers posted a small white snake, and said that it was "lively" and "very healing".
Due to improper breeding, pet snakes cause injuries abound. In September 2020, a 13-year-old teenager in Changchun City was bitten by a snake and admitted to the ICU. It turned out that the child, out of curiosity, secretly contacted a seller on Tieba and spent 300 yuan to buy a snake from the Internet. This snake is not an ordinary snake, but a highly venomous Yunnan bamboo leaf green snake. Fortunately, the rescue was timely, and the child saved a life.
Coincidentally, in 2018, a 21-year-old woman in Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, was bitten by a silver ring snake she had purchased online, resulting in brain death.
(2) Cockroaches
Because cockroaches can hiss when frightened or attacked, male cockroaches also fight each other, like fighting crickets, and some young people keep them as pets.
On an e-commerce platform, Red Star News found that there is a cockroach called "Madagascar vocal cockroach" that is on sale, and the price ranges from a few yuan to dozens of yuan. Someone asked "Can it be fried?" "Got a reply: Madagascar cockroach native to Madagascar, the cockroach sold is artificially bred, cleaner than the wild, but it is recommended not to eat.
Shanghai Customs once intercepted a giant Peruvian cockroach in imported cargo, one of the largest in the world. "Its wingspan is nearly 15 centimeters. Cockroaches come in all colors, and some people find it beautiful, but that doesn't justify treating it like a pet. Cao Min, a customs researcher in Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port Area, once told the media.
It is reported that cockroaches will secrete high carcinogen aflatoxin, will pollute sanitary ware, food, great harm, and even as a weapon of biological warfare, can be called one of the most vital organisms on the earth.
(3) Ants
In May 2019, Harbin Binhai Customs intercepted two live ants with a length of about 2.5 cm and 3 cm from mail sent to Australia. After identification, they are all endemic to Australia, commonly known as "bull ants" and "inch ants", which are poisonous ants.
Coincidentally, in 2021, Shanghai Customs seized a group of ants trying to "smuggle" into China. They came from an overseas mail parcel with a declared item called "Dental Consumables" containing 406 live ants. This ant is about 2 cm long and has a super large head!
According to the surging news
Who would dig up the heart to bring big ants into the country? "It's amazing to see ants building their homes from scratch, developing 'cities,' and watching ethnic groups socialize and fight with each other." On the Internet, an "ant friend" said that the reason why he likes to raise ants is because he has gained a special happiness in the breeding process.
In an e-commerce platform, Red Star News search found that many stores are selling pet ants, one of which has a price of more than 50 yuan and a workshop with ants, with more than 300 pieces sold every month. The clerk said they only sold bow-backed ants, a native species that are non-toxic and fed in closed workshops. The Red Star News search also found that there are still shops selling imported ants on the platform, priced at 400-700 yuan, but the page shows that the sales volume is 0.
(4) Spiders
On September 13, 2020, after a 16-year-old female middle school student in Yunxiao County, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, was bitten by a pet spider, her right palm and right forearm were swollen and painful, accompanied by chest tightness, limb convulsions, numbness and other uncomfortable symptoms, and her family immediately sent her to the hospital for treatment.
Red Star News searched on an e-commerce platform and found that pet spiders abound, one of which is a Brazilian big blue spider, which costs 40 yuan for one centimeter, and the adult female spider of 10-12 centimeters is priced at up to 950 yuan! In addition, Brazilian black velvet spiders, Chilean fire roses, Venezuelan Japanese tigers and other spiders are popular on e-commerce platforms. One shopkeeper said his Venezuelan Japanese tiger was farmed domestically, but advised that all bird-catching spiders should not be picked up, and that they are less toxic than bees, so be cautious about starting.
How toxic are these spiders? Some doctors said that most spiders are mainly skin damage to the human body, which will only cause skin necrosis, leaving scars, and will not be life-threatening. However, there are also a small number of spider bites that cause systemic poisoning reactions, in addition to local skin necrosis, ulcers, there will also be high fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and even shock death.
(5) Centipedes
In 2018, a college student in Shenzhen bought a centipede online, and after the arrival of the goods, an accident occurred, and the college student was swollen after being bitten by the centipede, and then was sent to the hospital for medical treatment.
On an e-commerce platform, many stores are selling Vietnamese giant centipedes and Hainan foot centipedes, with monthly sales of dozens. So how toxic is it? Many buyers said that they could not touch it at all, nor could they get started. A shop's "Feeding Introduction" shows that this kind of centipede originating from the Vietnamese rainforest is fierce and toxic, and the adult body can grow to 25cm+, and it must be caught using tweezers of more than 30cm, so it must not be started! Although the bite is not life-threatening, it can be severe for a day or two, very painful.
(6) Scorpions
Red Star News inquiries found that pet scorpion injuries occur from time to time. In 2016, a college student in Wuhan was stung by a small scorpion in the online shopping, and the redness and swelling were unbearable, and he had to go to the hospital for treatment.
In an e-commerce platform, pet scorpions are mostly Asian rainforest scorpions, Israeli golden scorpions, black thick-tailed scorpions, and radar whip-tailed scorpions. The price is more than a few dollars, dozens of dollars. Some stores have reached 400 monthly sales and more than 5,000 reviews. So, are these scorpions poisonous? One of the buyers replied: The amount of poison from being stung is about the same as the amount of poison of a wasp.
According to the data, the Asian rainforest scorpion feeds on insects and small lizards, and is slightly poisonous (all scorpions are poisonous, although the toxicity is small, not enough to be fatal, but allergists need to pay attention), can be pet reared, pay attention to ventilation and maintain a certain humidity.
More and more pets are being kept
What do I need to be aware of?
In addition to paying attention to these alternative pets that may be toxic, when we buy pets, we should also pay attention to which animals can not be bought as pets?
According to Ningbo Daily, after the adjustment of the "List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection" this year, many of the pets raised by ordinary people may have been adjusted to national or local wild protected animals and can no longer be purchased. To this end, the Yinzhou Branch of the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning has made relevant interpretations of the adjusted Directory of Wild Animals under National Key Protection and the Directory of Terrestrial Wild Animals under Key and General Protection in Zhejiang Province.
All terrestrial wild protected animals cannot be kept as pets at home. However, with one exception, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration agreed that henan province can carry special labels for four exotic parrots (Fei's peony parrot, purple-bellied honeyeater, green-cheeked cone-tailed parrot and monk parrot) as a pilot management of pet breeding.
budgerigar
All birds are terrestrial wild protected animals. However, birds with alien species that are not listed in Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, such as peach-faced peony parrots, tiger-skinned parrots and cockatoos, can be kept as pets.
Species marked in the wildlife protection list as "wild population only" can be bred with proof of legal artificial breeding source, or raised as pets, such as sika deer (artificially bred sika deer has been listed in special livestock and poultry, in line with the animal epidemic prevention law can be bred), raccoons, aquatic turtles such as flat-breasted turtles, yellow-throated water turtles, turtles, flower turtles, closed-shell turtles (except for three-line closed-shell turtles, Yunnan closed-shell turtles) and other animals.
Exotic animals with proof of legal origin that are not listed in Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora may be raised, such as raccoons and crocodile turtles listed in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It should be noted that alien species cannot be released at will.
Due to improper pet ownership
Someone got into jail
Not all animals can be used as pets, and some people are imprisoned for improper pet ownership.
Sichuan man Wang Mou likes pythons since childhood, and in early 2018, netizens sent a Burmese python to Wang to raise. In April 2018, Wang bought a Burmese python for 300 yuan through Baidu Tieba. After Wang was seized, after identification, the two pythons belonged to the national first-class protected animals, with a value of 60,000 yuan. In the first instance, the court sentenced Wang to three months' detention, suspended for six months, and fined him RMB 5,000 for the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals.
In late August 2021, Zhou Mouhao, a man from Heshan Mountain in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, was found to have two rhino lizards and one Chinese and American lizard. Among them, the rhino lizard belongs to the national first-level protected animal, and the Sino-American lizard belongs to the national second-level protected animal. After interrogation, Zhou Mouhao confessed that he knew that the lizard belonged to the national wild protection animal before purchasing the lizard, but still held a fluke mentality. Zhou Mouhao has been taken criminal compulsory measures in accordance with law.
Born in 1984, Wang Mou worked in futures after graduating with a master's degree, and raising turtles became her way to relieve stress and relax. In September 2019, Wang spent 1100 yuan to buy a red-legged tortoise from a WeChat friend. In December of the same year, the police arrested Wang at his residence. The red-legged tortoise was identified as an endangered wild animal listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. After trial, the Hangzhou Xiacheng Court sentenced Wang to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined 5,000 yuan for the crime of illegally purchasing endangered wild animals.
Two lawyers, Liu Lian and Sun Lingling of Shanghai Fengzhao Law Firm, said in an interview with the media that although keeping pets is an individual's right, it should still be kept within the scope of the law, and the crime of illegally purchasing rare and endangered wild animals is not measured by whether the perpetrators make profits and whether the animals are wild. Even for the purpose of breeding, the acquisition of domesticated and bred rare and endangered wild animals is also subject to legal sanctions.
Red Star News Editor Guan Li
Some of the information comes from City Express, Ningbo Daily, The Paper, China News Weekly, etc
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