Otters as pets in Japan....

Popularity of otters as pets in Japan...... :

This week's wildlife trade news

 

I've heard about an otter cafe in Japan, just like the one with owls/hedgehogs.

 

YouTube clip about the Otter trade :

 

Seems to go along with the mania for pet slow lorises , how sad.

But watching the video I can't help thinking of the Japanese river otter which in fairly recent times was declared extinct. Evidently there was no such "love" or "otter mania" showed towards that unfortunate species while it was still with us.

 

Japanese pet care is usually terrible. I don't think I've ever seen good Japanese pet care on Instagram, but I'm sure it's out there. I've seen videos of otters squealing and running around, but is any of their care actually good? Do people provide them with their proper diets?

 

I think there will be owners who care for their pets well in Japan as in any other countries.

I've seen some videos of elderly Japanese who have cared for their pets which are also aged such as tortoises and caimans for decades and decades , quite moving really.

The fact that many of these pets are derived from the illegal pet trade is surely a mark of irresponsible ownership, but then again , is it ever worth generalizing about a Nation and its people ?

For example statistically speaking I think that problem is probably likely to be far higher in the USA. Some in Japan might look at the incidence of irresponsible and illegal big cat / reptile ownership in America and the record of invasive species in Florida and make similar generalizations.

 

As I said above: "I'm sure it's out there."

 

This is funny. I've been getting a number of YouTube recommendations for pet otter videos and they all seem to be Japanese or Korean.

 

It would be nice to have a backyard pond for pet otters, with a waterslide and all. But a man can only dream.

 

I watch this YouTube channel the otter seems quite happy, but I just want to know what they feed her.

 

I’ve seen zoos in France feed surplus ground beaf from supermarkets to their otters. Not sure if it’s appropriate but I don’t think their diet requirements are hard to meet

 

I watched one of the other videos and they feed their otter fish.

 

@ChIkEn NuGrEt That’s good to hear

 

One Japanese TV show placed different species of owls together, those smaller species just beside their natural predators and they showed nervous and stressful expressions, but Japanese audiences enjoyed watching that for fun.

 

Otters as pets are all fun and games until the day that they change their minds and rip your face off. I've seen at otter going after a zoo keeper that it did not like, and nobody would want to be on the wrong end of angry otter teeth, claws, and ferocity. Ow.

 

Another peculiar thread. Do we judge a culture by the videos we see posted on Instagram?
Do we live in such narrow, self-congratulating bubbles that we assume Instagram or YouTube is how the entire world expresses itself? These platforms have loads of users but they represent only a fraction of most populations.
If you have not visited a country and spent considerable time, talking with citizens and getting to know them, then you know nothing about the culture.
If you need to feel superior about something look to your own country. You know its craziness.
About 50% of Japanese are on social media and Instagram is not dominant.

 

In Japan, exotic pets include:
Fennec Fox
Pythons
Fruit Bats
Meerkats
Mandarin Ducks
Owls

and these are only the ones I've seen in pet stores...

 

I forgot to mention, I’ve also seen full grown Burmese python and Spectacled Caiman, as well as eagle owls, elf owls, and Brown Wood owls. Exotic fish include silver arowana, and Red Bellied Pirahnas, as well as several species of lungfish. I also saw a Bennett Wallaby once…

 

Silver Arowana are a pet store staple here in the states, pretty much any pet store carrying freshwater fish will have them on the regular. Typically they're sold as youngsters between 3-5 inches in length, I do wonder how many of the people buying them realize how big they can grow... or the predatory nature of the species.