Target: Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
Goal: Demand an end to the cruel practice of de-glanding domestic skunks.
Skunks have become increasingly popular pets across the United States. It is perfectly legal to own one in at least 17 different states–including Florida, Massachusetts, and Ohio. One of the most notable differences between domesticated and non-domesticated skunks is that domestic skunks typically lack scent glands. When domesticated skunks are between two to five weeks of age, they undergo a painful procedure known as de-glanding, in which the natural scent glands located near the skunks backside are completely removed. The de-glanding of a skunk is on par with other controversial practices such as declawing a cat or debarking a dog, and exists simply because it is easier for the owner to deal with a de-glanded skunk.
Even worse, this procedure strips the skunk of its natural born defenses. When a skunk feels threatened, it will “shoot” a defensive spray from its scent glands at whatever the threatening presence is. This spray–an organic compound containing large amounts of sulfur–has a noticeably bad smell that might induce itchiness and nausea. By removing these scent glands, we are rendering these wild animals totally defenseless. Skunks also do not have the same navigational skills as cats and dogs do and, so if a domestic skunk runs away or gets loose, it will likely not be able to find its way back home again. Without scent glands, these skunks will be practically helpless and at the expense of their surroundings.
Altering an animal to make our lives easier is fundamentally wrong, especially when it involves stripping a wild animal of its natural defenses. Sign this petition to demand an end to de-glanding of domestic skunks.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
In 17 states across America, wild skunks are domesticated and kept as pets. Many, if not all, of these skunk owners participate in a procedure that removes the glands through which skunks “shoot” their defensive spray. The purpose is simple; to prevent owners from having to deal with the smelly substance that skunks emit when they are scared. But in doing so, owners are also stripping these wild animals of their only natural defense.
When a skunk feels vulnerable or threatened, she will spray a concoction of foul smelling organic compounds in the direction of the threat in hopes of deterring the predator from coming any closer. Without scent glands, this natural defense mechanism is rendered totally useless. Not only is it wrong to strip a wild animal of its protection, but it can also be potentially dangerous for the skunk. Since skunks don’t have great navigational skills, if a pet skunk gets loose it might not find its way home. This means the skunk would be forced to battle the elements without its only source of self-defense.
We are asking you, Mr. Vilsack, to please ban this cruel practice of de-glanding pet skunks. It is not just to alter an animal’s evolutionary adaptations to make our own lives easier.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Tomfriedel
Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.
What a world filled with stupid.
This is wicked & a terrible thing to do to a wild animal – humans will go to any cruel length to own a different animal, as a UK resident I had no idea this was even allowed – skunks belong in their natural environment with their defensive scent glands intact. Shame on those people!
I live in Canada and you would be surprised at the shit Americans are do to animals just to call them pets. Canadians are not much better.
This shit and other acts of cruelty are in every part of the world. Qatar are shooting stray dogs because of a fucking sports event!!
do you know that wild skunks life spans are 2yrs in the wild. That people swerve to run them over or shot because they are nuisance animals. what gets me with all of these comments is I don’t think even 1 of you have a skunk as a pet. Domestic skunks live for 10yrs or more. I didn’t get mine fixed they came like that from a breeder. They are very happy and rule over everyone in my household. it’s not different that neutering your animals. do you object to that also?
THINK BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING!!!! The pet captive born skunks are not wild skunks. No one is deglanding wild skunks and releasing them to the wild. This is misinformation. Descending a captive born skunk is no different then descending a ferret, or a docking a dogs tail, or circumcise of a baby human etc.. The skunks are NOT being tortured. I have watched baby captive born skunks being descended and as soon as they are let down they go run and play. It’s Inhumane if you don’t descent a captive born pet skunk that will be part of the family member inside someone’s home. What is being said here is just to rile people up of something they know nothing about. Pet skunks are just like owning any other pet such as cat, dog, mouse, ferrets, etc. Some people should not own any pets and people should do their homework/research before buying any pet so they can care for them in the best way they can for the health and welling being of that four legged family member. I would never sign any petition like this due to misinformation. Google pet skunks, educate yourself before ruining people’s pet skunks. Pet skunks have been around for decades and check out the many colors of pet skunks, they are not just black and white.
Why would we do this-its so bizarre, humans need to get a life and a job and do something useful and leave animals alone
Makes me wonder what kind of people these vets who do these vile procedures on animals are? No one I would want caring for my animals.
Oh I wonder too!!
Torturing a change in a fellow creature so we can have it as a “pet” means we don’t actually care for the animal at all!
If you love something, at least let it be as Mother Nature intended!
do you know that wild skunks life spans are 2yrs in the wild. That people swerve to run them over or shot because they are nuisance animals. what gets me with all of these comments is I don’t think even 1 of you have a skunk as a pet. Domestic skunks live for 10yrs or more. I didn’t get mine fixed they came like that from a breeder. They are very happy and rule over everyone in my household.
Their scent sacs are part of their anatomy – just like cat’s claws are part of their anatomy. We shouldn’t mess with Mother Nature – that is their only defense mechanism because they are small, gentle, fragile animals.
do you know that wild skunks life spans are 2yrs in the wild. That people swerve to run them over or shot because they are nuisance animals. what gets me with all of these comments is I don’t think even 1 of you have a skunk as a pet. Domestic skunks live for 10yrs or more. I didn’t get mine fixed they came like that from a breeder. They are very happy and rule over everyone in my household. it’s not different that neutering your animals. do you object to that also? futhermore the only thing that my “fragile, gentle, small” animals have to protect themselves from is getting a bath every 3mths or from the “dangerous” chicken nuggets they get as a treat from mcdonalds. my skunks go to the very more than I got to the doctor. Hell their shampoo costs 40 dollars a bottle, not to mention they (yes they choice) won’t eat veggies unless they are organic and fresh.
WHAT… skunks as pets?!?! Are people mad??? Why have weird and strange pets, when a lovely dog or cat will do just as well? FFS!! This craze of having weird pets should be banned!
I love skunks, but skunks are not pets. We should just leave them alone. I know people wouldn’t keep one as a pet if this wasn’t done…but what is wrong with just admiring and loving nature as it is meant to be. We used to have a skunk that would visit us, and I just watched it through the window.
Please the US needs to outlaw all these stupid human want thing… We need to fully outlaw this, cat declaring, tail and ear docking…(Unless there is a proven medical reason)
AMEN
STOP TORTURING SKUNKS IMMEDIATELY!!!
do you know that wild skunks life spans are 2yrs in the wild. That people swerve to run them over or shot because they are nuisance animals. what gets me with all of these comments is I don’t think even 1 of you have a skunk as a pet. Domestic skunks live for 10yrs or more. I didn’t get mine fixed they came like that from a breeder. They are very happy and rule over everyone in my household.
Retards. Remove their sense of smell…. Simple.
That’s a great idea!
👍
do you know that wild skunks life spans are 2yrs in the wild. That people swerve to run them over or shot because they are nuisance animals. what gets me with all of these comments is I don’t think even 1 of you have a skunk as a pet. Domestic skunks live for 10yrs or more. I didn’t get mine fixed they came like that from a breeder. They are very happy and rule over everyone in my household. it is no different that fixing your dog or cat so they can’t reproduce.
Humans need to stop altering animals to suit their convenience. Wild animals of any kind are NOT pets and should be left in the wild where they belong!
AMEN to that!!
do you know that wild skunks life spans are 2yrs in the wild. That people swerve to run them over or shot because they are nuisance animals. what gets me with all of these comments is I don’t think even 1 of you have a skunk as a pet. Domestic skunks live for 10yrs or more. I didn’t get mine fixed they came like that from a breeder. They are very happy and rule over everyone in my household. it’s not different that neutering your animals. do you object to that also?
You said it nuts!! This is TORTURE and you should be charged with animal cruelty!!
THIS IS ANIMAL CRUELTY AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH!!!!
Both keeping skunks as pets and de-glading them is an EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME!!! BAN this atrocity NOW…
Yes now!!!
This is no different than spaying or neutering an animal. We circumcise human babies don’t we? It is not torture. Most are de-scented while under anesthesia. I’ve even witnessed it being done on a very young baby & if done by a well experienced person. The baby is fine. It is not nearly as invasive as neutering or spaying. My pet skunks are emotional support for me for the loss of a child, depression, & pain. We that have pet skunks, educate & rescue them have saved them from being fur pelts & laboratory testing. I also support that pet skunks are not a pet for everyone. Much like many domesticated pets (and humans) nobody is perfect.
Sometimes people forget the necessity and need of human & animal relationship. “According to the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), the human-animal bond is “a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviors that are essential to the health and well-being of both.”
Pet skunks are not “wild born”. They are a minimum of 7 generations out. Thats the law. Secondly, many people have skunks as pets that are not descented. The drawback to that is vets won’t see a fully loaded skunk. Skunks are emotional support animals to many, just pets to others. The pet trade is huge and covers many different types of animals. For many people, animals and their care are appropriate and proper. Cruelty unfortunately exists the world over. There are horrible people everywhere. They do horrible things to other people. But there are good and decent loving people as well. There are a lot of you out there that need to do your homework/research before condeming what you apparently know nothing about. Rally strongly against true cruelty, to animals and humans both, but at least have the knowledge to which you are talking about.
I agree people need to do there research before commenting. Pet skunks are farm raised and if raised and treated and cared for properly make amazing pets. Descenting is done when they are very young and most times under anesthesia. They wake up like nothing ever happened. I also rehab wild skunks to be released back into the wild and I agree they were born wild and need to stay wild.
Attempting to enact generalized, wide-sweeping laws without research, expertise, and a complete understanding of the ramifications is not only irresponsible but cruel to the very animals you purport to care about. Please consult reputable skunk rescues and the veterinarians who work with these skunks to better understand the impact of what you’re proposing.
THINK BEFORE YOU SIGN ANYTHING!!!! The pet captive born skunks are not wild skunks. No one is deglanding wild skunks and releasing them to the wild. This is misinformation. Descending a captive born skunk is no different then descending a ferret, or a docking a dogs tail, or circumcise of a baby human etc.. The skunks are NOT being tortured. I have watched baby captive born skunks being descended and as soon as they are let down they go run and play. It’s Inhumane if you don’t descent a captive born pet skunk that will be part of the family member inside someone’s home. What is being said here is just to rile people up of something they know nothing about. Pet skunks are just like owning any other pet such as cat, dog, mouse, ferrets, etc. Some people should not own any pets and people should do their homework/research before buying any pet so they can care for them in the best way they can for the health and welling being of that four legged family member. I would never sign any petition like this due to misinformation. Google pet skunks, educate yourself before ruining people’s pet skunks. Pet skunks have been around for decades and check out the many colors of pet skunks, they are not just black and white.
I don’t live in the USA and reading this realise maybe there are valid reasons to do this but it depends on owners and maybe this is the early years of the industry. Surely some vets will see them even if they have working scent glands even if only at the end of the day so they can air the place. I don’t think I can retract now but in future i will read comments. All those speaking as owners should write to this person also.
I have tried reaching out with no luck to Victoria . She is wrong to do this. No one is decenting wild skunks.
I do not see anything wrong with deglanding a pet skunk.
So I guess cutting off a dogs tail or ripping out a cats nails, is ok. The glands that skunks have when their born are on the out side of their body…..they remove them when their only a few days old. They are removed with nail clippers, like cutting your nails. It is not a medical procedure like removing or ripping out cats claws. There is a big difference between pet skunks and wild. Historically skunks were kept as pets by the American Indians, cats came from the old world. These skunks would be kept in teepees and long houses, as pets….sent glands were removed by using two shells, or pieces of bone. Fast forward into the fur trade, and the massive breeding of captive skunks, slaughter for their fur….when the fur companies became out of favor….some of these companies turned to the pet industry….skunks as pets.
Having a skunk is really no different than having a dog or cat….they play, and come when their called, and house broken. Pet skunks, go the the vet, and are gaining popularity….my girl, would always look forward to my dad coming for a visit…..the minute he sat on the couch, she would jump on his lap, and curl up. She loved him. I had her because I am highly allergic to cats….skunks are hypoallergenic, for most people.
I couldn’t imagine if they could puff that oil in my home…and she would not have to warn anyone….she is safe….but if they get startled…yes…
(So for instance you walk to the bathroom at night…..and startle your little one….and you get sprayed in your own home, not only will you stink for days, but all the fabric in your home has to be removed…not cleaned….but disposed of..)
Wild skunks are a different animal…they belong in the wild.