MountainLion_MoneyandPets_Cuny_Lynn_KendaliaTexas_29March2021_Reel4050.mp3

Lynn Cuny [00:00:00] Well, so as we all know, and we know better now in 2021 than we knew it back in '77, '78, '79. People will do damn near anything for money. That is a profound and fundamental flaw in our system, and it is a deadly flaw to other beings.

Lynn Cuny [00:00:21] So in the end, it's still going on. The trade in wild animals as so-called "pets" is still going on. The species change, but the trade is out there. It is real. It is big. It is a billion-dollar business. And it is in this country. It's in other countries as well. But people always figure it's only going on in other countries. No, no. It's in this country. And it's big business.

Lynn Cuny [00:00:42] So somewhere along the line, somebody saw that, "OK, you know, wouldn't it be cool, or wouldn't people think it was cool, to have a "pet" (and I use that word in quotes) mountain lion or jaguar?

Lynn Cuny [00:00:56] And by golly, you know, and of course, you're in Texas and you're dealing with a species that has no protection, mountain lion in this case, obviously. You can get a male, get a female, let them mate. They have a cub or two. Pull the cub.

Lynn Cuny [00:01:16] What, you know, what can they do? The animals are stuck. The babies can do nothing. The parents can do nothing.

Lynn Cuny [00:01:22] And you make, you know, a couple thousand bucks. One cat just made you a couple thousand dollars.

Lynn Cuny [00:01:30] And if you are a greedy, heartless, soulless individual who thinks it's cool to do this and gets a big image with how great you are with big cats and aren't you special, then believe me, you're going to do nothing but work really hard to increase your bottom line on the backs of these animals.

Lynn Cuny [00:01:50] And that's all it is. That's all it's ever been. That's all it ever will be.

Lynn Cuny [00:01:54] People consider it a novelty. They think that their friends are going to think they're cool or they think it's really, you know, going to be fun or whatever the hell they think.

Lynn Cuny [00:02:02] And there's always going to be somebody out there who's perfectly willing to have animals suffer so they can make money.