Sugar gliders, the exotic, cute little marsupials from Australia, are protected by law in South Australia, where it is illegal to keep them without a permit
or to capture or sell them without a licence (which is usually only issued for research).
The sugar glider is a popular domestic pet, but is one of the most commonly traded wild animals in the illegal pet trade, where animals are plucked directly from their natural habitats.
Exotic animals like sugar gliders have particular dietary and environmental needs often ignored by pet owners. They are often purched on impulse and taken home and neglected. Sugar gliders live in family groups as large as 30 members, a dynamic ignored when they are made into pets.
Ban the sale of sugar gliders as pets in the United States. In addition to fueling the illegal pet trade from Australia, many people are breeding them- a situation as bad as puppy mills- being both cruel and inhumane. Noone really knows where the "surplus" animals wind up.
Headquarters:
USDA/APHIS/AC
4700 River Road, Unit 84
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
E-mail: ace@aphis.usda.gov
Phone: (301) 851-3751
Fax: (301) 734-4978
Mailing Address
: USDA/APHIS/AC
2150 Centre Ave.
Building B, Mailstop 3W11
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8117
E-mail: acwest@aphis.usda.gov
Phone: (970) 494-7478
Fax: (970) 494-7461
