Ben Davison’s plans to keep a pet African lion at his farm south of Hettinger has caused a bit of an uproar in the area and may lead to an investigation by federal wildlife officials.
Davison, 18, a senior at Hettinger High School, said he’s building the enclosure required for a license from the state veterinarian’s office, which has looked at it and found it doesn’t meet state standards.
Since then, Deputy State Veterinarian Beth Carlson said her contacts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have led to the possibility that the out-of-state lion breeder may be in violation of the federal Captive Wildlife Safety Act for initiating a sale to a person without a federal license to have an African lion, which is a protected species under the act.
“They (Ben and his dad, Casey Davison) will not be getting a lion unless they get (federally) licensed. The seller may be investigated,” Carlson said.
Davison said in a phone interview Wednesday that he wanted to buy a female cub and have it declawed, spayed and possibly remove its canines (teeth).
“I’m just really into animals. I want to learn about them,” Davison said.
Carlson said she’s been leaving messages with both Davisons to inform them that their request for a state license is overshadowed by the very restrictive federal act.
Davison said he’s already built a roofed cage 20- by 18- feet across and 12 feet high connected to the barn so the feline could go into an insulated enclosure that he plans to make “way bigger” after the state vet’s inspection.
Davison said he plans to buy a female cub for $800 from a breeder, but not until his license is approved.
“The last batch was just born two weeks ago, but I told him we’re not ready,” he said.
State Veterinarian Susan Keller said no one has ever requested a license to keep an African lion, even before the federal Captive Wildlife Safety Act went into effect in 2007.
She said she would be concerned about the safety of humans caring for the animals and the welfare of the lion. In the case of an African lion, the enclosure would need to provide warmth because they don’t have the same fur coat as a mountain lion, or bobcat, she said. African lions also need a place to “go up and lay. There's a lot more to it. It needs to be a humane environment,” Keller said.
She said owners need shift cages to protect themselves when tending the animals and cleaning the enclosure.
“One concern is do they know how to care for the animal,” she said.
Information from federal wildlife officials makes it all but certain licensing won’t be a state prerogative anyway, Carlson said.
Adams County Commissioner Chuck Christman said he’s fielded a fair number of phone calls from people who were worried about public safety and the welfare of the lion.
“We raise a lot of cattle out here and we all know how to do that. I told ’em (Davisons) that this isn’t like giving a kitty a cupful of food a day,” Christman said.
Christman said there wouldn’t be much the county could do if a license were approved. “I’d hate to say they can or can’t have a pet, people have other wild animals. Hopefully in the meantime, with pressure from the neighbors they would see the light that this is not the place for an African lion,” he said. “This climate is so much out of its realm.”
Carlson said there are felines, like bobcats, that are not protected under the federal act and for which a state license would be suitable.
Davison said in the meantime, he's awaiting the arrival of a 6-inch alligator, which he’ll raise until it gets too big.
Courtesy of Grits
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I will vouch for the integrity, character, and intelligence of any native North Dakotan, but I will not vouch for the intelligence of an apparent transplant like young Davidson, whom I suspect, given his moronic idea to buy a lion, sounds more like a native of Minnesota, John Milton's Herriot's home state, and he only immigrated west to THE Dakota(not the other one) with his family in search of land and climate more conducive to alligator husbandry.
The comments in this link (14) Comments are classic North Dakota, and I couldn't be prouder. God bless and protect The Rough Rider State.
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5 comments:
Surely not our Babs?
http://celebgalz.com/barbara-hoffman-hoffmans-winter-of-frozen-dreams/
Obviously this kid hasn't done too much research. They made it illegal to declaw them in 2006.
Radar,
Just another in a long list of goofiness. I wonder what makes declawing domestic cat's legal? You gotta assume it is as painful.
This guy needs to watch a few episodes of the show "Fatal Attractions" which appears on Animal Planet, he'll get a good view of what happens to people who decide to keep exotic animals as pets.
A recent episode featured a young man in the midwest who acquired 5 or 6 lions and tigers. When entering the cage he carried a bottle of ammonia for "protection". When the action in the cage got a little "rough" he would spray it into the cats faces. As you can guess this person is no longer with us.
Wade, I'm sure you've been approached by people like this who have acquired an animal and "keep it until it gets big" and now they haven't a clue as to what to do. What do you tell them?
Vincent/San Diego
Vincent,
Almost daily. Other then pointing out that a feline is about as exciting and as much fun as a reptile to play with, and that a dog will learn to retrieve and play frisbee much quicker, for the most part, I just ignore them. They have enough of an "identity issue" already, I don't want to have them assume I have validated them.
Wade
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