Selfless/Selfish

When talking to visitors about the dangers or downsides to keeping some animals as pets, I find that there are two approaches that can be used.  Sometimes they can be used in tandem.  Sometimes one will work and the other will not.  And in some cases, both have failed to change the person's position.  I call them the selfless and the selfish approach.

The first one, and the one that I consider more desirable, is the selfless one.  That's when you inform the visitor about the potential impact and wellbeing of their decision to keep a pet on the animal.  It's when you talk to them about how the animal might be expected to suffer if kept in conditions that it might experience with an inexperienced or unsuitable pet owner.  Not enough space, socialization, or stimulation, resulting in boredom or neurosis.  Improper diet and health care, resulting in sickness and poor condition.  Stuff like that.  Ideally, the takeaway is that the person processes their decision, decides that they want the animal to be happy and healthy, and makes a more informed decision, which, nine times out of ten, involves them not getting the animal.

This doesn't always work, though.  I was talking to a visitor at an iguana exhibit one day, and she was going on about how she wanted one, and talking about her set up.  I told her that if she wanted an iguana, she might want to think bigger - also, better lighting, some outdoor access, etc.  She cut me off, saying she wasn't planning on it living that long.  I was speechless.

Which brings me to the second approach, the selfish one.  This is where you try to convince the visitor that their own self interest will be negatively impacted by getting the animal.  I don't open with danger - for a lot of people who want a dangerous pet, such as a venomous snake, the danger is the point... or at least it is until they get bitten.  I talk about other things that there's less "shame" in not wanting to deal with.  For macaws, for example - their loudness, their neediness, their destructive tendencies.   They might not be put off initially by talk of expenses, convinced that they can cut corners or do things cheaper, but when you give them an impression of their expensive dining room table reduced to splinters, that may catch their attention.  Some people just don't care about the animals, but they sure as heck care about themselves, their comfort, and their wallet.

It reminds me of the old line about Cromwellian England.  Puritans banned bear-baiting, but not because it caused pain to the bears, but because people enjoyed it.