End the Sale of Marsupials as Exotic Pets in Shopping Malls ...

Animal Welfare, Petitions ? By Jaclyn Bauer on April 19, 2012 10:04 am

Target: CEO of CBL & Associates Properties, Stephen Lebovitz

Goal: To end the sale of sugar gliders (marsupials)?in shopping malls.

Sugar Gliders are marsupials indigenous to Australia and Indonesia: hence they do not belong in North America, and least of all in the malls of the U.S. However, more and more sugar gliders are being sold as pets in the States. CBL & Associates Properties (a company that manages many malls including Georgia Square Mall in Athens, Georgia) allows the sale of these marsupials in their malls. Sold by Florida based company Pocket Pets in mall kiosks such as those found in Georgia Square Mall, sugar gliders are passed off as easily handled pets. This is extremely misleading to buyers who will pay as much as $600 for a sugar glider from Pocket Pets.

Requiring filtered water, since toxicity of tap water is one of the leading causes of death in sugar gliders according to a Purdue University study, as well as a balanced diet, care for sugar gliders is very intensive. Sugar gliders are also social creatures and should not be left alone. In fact, it is recommended that buyers purchase sugar gliders in pairs because the marsupials are so instinctively communal and require so much affection. Gliderpedia, a website devoted to the care of sugar gliders notes that ?when housed alone, gliders are likely to become depressed, withdrawn, even defensive, and may refuse to eat and could eventually die from loneliness!? Many sugar gliders become so depressed that they even engage in self-mutilation. Is this the price these creatures should pay for the interest of American consumers?

Constant companionship coupled with necessary veterinary visits and possibly needing to invest in a second sugar glider, it is clear that raising one of these minuscule marsupials is not as easy as Pocket Pets would like buyers to think. The sale of the exotic sugar glider in malls must end, and the first place to start is with the malls managed by CBL & Associates. Urge the Chief Executive Officer of CBL & Associates, Stephen Lebovitz to prohibit the sale of all exotic animals in the malls that his company manages.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Stephen Lebovitz,

As Chief Executive Officer of CBL & Associates Properties, it is your responsibility to ensure that all exchanges and sales in your malls meet ethical standards. As of right now this is not the case. The company, Pocket Pets, which your malls allow to sell exotic pets at its kiosks, must be prohibited from continuing to do so.

Pocket Pets sells marsupials such as the sugar glider, passing them off as easy to care for and requiring minimal attention. This, however, is entirely untrue. Sugar gliders are one the most social beings and often become depressed when ignored. Neglect can lead to the death of a sugar glider either because it will refuse to eat and drink, or because the owner is ignorant to its veterinary needs (which are comparable with that of dogs and cats).

Pocket Pets misinforms buyers as to the extent of care sugar gliders require and for this reason many sugar gliders are brought to veterinarians malnourished, self-mutilated, and with neurological disorders. Do not continue to support this unethical practice: prohibit the sale of these marsupials on all of your companies? properties and help promote the proper care of sugar gliders.

Sincerely

[Your Name Here]

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