Zoo will host Exotic Animal Amnesty Day   

The News Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY – Washington Park Zoo will hold an Exotic Animal Amnesty Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15. Owners of unwanted exotic pets can drop off the animals at the zoo’s animal clinic with no penalties and no questions asked. Both legally and illegally owned pets will be accepted. Zoo staff personnel will be on hand to receive the animals, which will later be distributed to other zoos, nature centers and educational facilities.

This is the first time an amnesty event will be held at Washington Park Zoo, Zoo Director Johnny Martinez said.

The idea for the Amnesty Day came from the Miami Metro Zoo, which has been holding animal amnesty events in partnership with the Florida Wildlife Commission since 2006.

Martinez said he decided to host this event after someone released an alligator in Pine Lake in La Porte.

The zoo is offered various animals throughout the year because people tire of the responsibility and novelty of keeping exotic pets, he said. The practice of releasing pets into the wild, though, is “not fair to the animal, and dangerous to the native environment.”

The Exotic Animal Amnesty Day at the Washington Park Zoo will encourage owners to bring their animals to a place where they can be safely and humanely handled. The amnesty event also will help to increase public safety by reducing the number of illegally held animals in the state.

Recently in the national news, a 200-pound chimp was reported to have attacked a woman, causing her to suffer life-threatening injuries, and she remains hospitalized. This was “the most noted, publicized and tragic” incident in recent years, but other exotic animals can pose a similar threat, Martinez said.

Exotic Animal Amnesty Day will provide a safe environment for exotic pets, while creating a safer environment for Indiana residents, he said.

Domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, will not be accepted, nor will North American carnivores such as raccoons, skunks, bobcats, mountain lions or bears.

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