Just one clarification here - my daughter and husband are not "trophy" hunters. They do not hunt for the sole purpose of putting a head on a wall. (In fact, my husband has been hunting for over 30 years, and last year was the first time he had a mount done.) They hunt because they enjoy the taste of duck, goose, and venison, and the enjoyment of being outdoors. A carnivore is a carnivore, whether you eat grocery store meat or wild meat, so "hunting" in and of itself does not constitute animal hatred or a wish to see all animals in captivity. My daughter and husband would not want to see any of the animals they hunt "domesticated", would never hunt at a game farm, where the animals are contained within boundaries and the kill is almost guaranteed, because they respect that game animals should live in the wild. Wouldn't it be nice if all the beef we ate came from cattle that were allowed to graze and roam freely right up until the bitter end? We had this discussion before on another thread where taxidermy was being condemned as barbaric. Once again, I must reiterate, if you eat animal flesh, you cannot judge hunters, and you can't make a connection between hunting and the wish to domesticate/cage/"own" wild animals. I know you said you didn't imply that about my daughter, but you did raise the question.

I also am confused as to how a "rescue" operation comes about by purchasing animals. At the start of this thread, you repeatedly said that you were purchasing a "pet". Then, it became an "ambassador", and finally, the "rescue" slant was put on it when you weren't getting too much approval for your choice. The Humane Society doesn't have to go out and purchase animals to keep it's shelters full - I would think you would rather leave space open for animals that are truly in need of rescue than continue to collect exotics. The money you spend feeding your "ambassador" could be spent on an actual rescue animal. I don't think you could teach anything to kids by exhibiting a purchased animal, other than how easy it is buy an exotic animal on the Internet. Why not exhibit a rescued animal instead, to teach the kids about responsible animal ownership and treatment?

And Twisterdog, you hit the nail on the head exactly.