Animal Planet documentary

Did anyone see the animal planet documentary called fatal attractions and alien invaders? Both were strongly against exotic pet owners, senator Bill Nelson was part of it. It was sponsored by the Humane society of America.

I saw a commercial for it and immediately cringed, but never got to watch the program.

It was awful. It was about the burmeses, african rock python, anaconda, some giant rat, nile monitors and ferel pigs destroying florida. I know there is a problem in Florida, but they made it look bad for us. I didn't want to give them the satisfactory of watching it, but I felt like I needed to see it. They estimate there are 100,000 + burmese pythons in Florida, which is a problem, but they need to let hunters go at it in my opinion. They admitted that the python ban will not help the florida burmese problem, but prevent a spread of them. They said the burmese could survive in 32 states, lol. Crazy stuff. Then the show fatal attractions was about pet owners being killed by there exotic animals.

Seems like Animal Planet and others are out for mammal keepers only now or just only unexotic. The $hi! they've been airing lately has been so damning for the exotic reptile hobby.

They are against non-native species, period. They were just as against exotic mammals as they were reptiles etc.

My husband and I watched it last night and were appalled. We didn't expect anything less, but still.

Despite them pushing the exotics ban on the show, they admitted that the first wild burm was found twenty-seven years ago. Why blame people now for what started twenty years ago? It only takes a single pair of burm to infest the Everglades to the extent it is now if you go by that time frame.

Did you watch the show that ran after it? It sensationalized two cases where the owners death was caused by the reptiles they kept. The one that really bothered me was the case involving the monitors. The guy got bit by one of them while feeding and instead of seeking medical help he died in his apartment from an infection. The monitors then began eating his body (they were free-roaming) because they were starving. That's not the monitors fault!

Originally Posted by TripleMoonsExotic

Did you watch the show that ran after it? It sensationalized two cases where the owners death was caused by the reptiles they kept. The one that really bothered me was the case involving the monitors. The guy got bit by one of them while feeding and instead of seeking medical help he died in his apartment from an infection. The monitors then began eating his body (they were free-roaming) because they were starving. That's not the monitors fault!

That's not the true story either. That guy died of a heart attack and natural causes not from a monitor bite. He was found around 1 week to 10 days after his death and the animals, doing what comes natural yes had fed on him. I heard in that show they also said he owned Komodo dragons and that's what killed him and ate him. Hello Animal Planet!!! They're not legal to own in the US without a zoo permit!!! He owned Nile monitors.

Amazing just how wrong a show /tv station can be when being paid off to spread a toxic word to ban exotic pets.

I did watch both shows, by the way, it was nile monitors, black throats, savannahs etc. Of course it has to show the nut cases or "strange" occurances, not your ordinary herpers. I am liking animal planet less and less.
Thats pretty wild that the first burm was found in 1979. Did you see all the humane society ads, they played it out perfectly. Donate to us and become a member and help fight the release and infestation of exotic animals in our eco system.

Originally Posted by TailsWithScales

That's not the true story either. That guy died of a heart attack and natural causes not from a monitor bite. He was found around 1 week to 10 days after his death and the animals, doing what comes natural yes had fed on him. I heard in that show they also said he owned Komodo dragons and that's what killed him and ate him. Hello Animal Planet!!! They're not legal to own in the US without a zoo permit!!! He owned Nile monitors.

Amazing just how wrong a show /tv station can be when being paid off to spread a toxic word to ban exotic pets.

I believe it. It seemed unlikely to me that you could die from a monitor bite as they described. I've been bit by several different species of reptiles (including monitors) and have never had any adverse reactions. I'm sure you could get an infection, but any rational reptile owner will thoroughly clean the bite and seek medical help if necessary.

The Komodo Dragon thing was from the first show. They were talking about how their were no recorded "attacks" by the monitors loose in Florida...and then spoke about their has been with Komodo Dragons on their native island. I'm not sure why they would compare the loose monitors in Florida to a lizard that gets 8-10 feet and 150 pounds that no individual can legally own in the US. Sensationalism, I guess.

BTW, the feral hog part...My husband tells me those are a bigger concern then non-native reptiles as they adapt easily to most any habitat. Evidently the problem (which originated in Texas) has spread all the way up here to PA. He tells me that any domesticated hog, once it gets loose for several weeks, starts turning into an aggressive psycho pig.

If this is the case, then why is their a snake ban in the works rather then a pig ban? These pigs actually attack people, unlike reptiles who run rather then be on the offense.