Adopting Pet Sharks -- First, a Reality Check!

The trade in exotic animals is a multimillion-dollar industry because, armed with enough money, a person can buy almost any type of creature somewhere and -- as P. T. Barnum would have been quick to remind us -- there's a sucker born every minute. Even people who should be smart and sophisticated enough to know better sometimes get carried away.

May 16, 2006 - Malibu, California

Britney Spears' husband, Kevin Federline, adopted six pet sharks. According to his young superstar wife, the "probably like 600 gallon" tank in which this shiver of sharks lived was an important focal point of their home decorating. "Kevin's sharks are the size of my arm. He feeds them tons of shrimp and they are getting bigger" said Britney, who added: "I'm scared. They're white sharks, but they are not Great Whites." Tanks that size might be relatively rare but the fact is that Mr. Federline wasn't the first and probably won't be the last well-meaning person to be snookered into what may be the latest fad in pet ownership -- pet sharks.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back in the Pet Shop

Very few things in life are more fascinating to watch than an expertly designed and maintained aquarium. Some people also enjoy a vicarious thrill from having something potentially dangerous living in a tank contained in the safety of their living room. Entrepreneurs who understand all this have made millions from the pet shark industry. These guys are in business to make money and they mean business.

Chicago, Illinois

An indictment unsealed during the week of February 9, 2006, charged six men with knowingly buying or selling a protected species of animal, a Federal crime. The defendants allegedly took 465 baby sharks from California waters for sale as pets in the United States, Britain and the Netherlands. Among these fish were baby leopard sharks which legally cannot be taken until they are at least 36 inches long - much too big for home aquariums. The Shedd Aquarium served as a temporary home for the baby leopard sharks until they could be returned to the waters of San Francisco Bay.

Time for a Reality Check before You Wade In

Undoubtedly, owning your own sharks is an exciting hobby but before you start shopping on the Internet for a shiver of wobbygongs, there are some serious things to consider about this kind of pet adoption. Foremost among these is the ultimate size the animal will attain. The size of some fish (notably salmonids) can be contained by limiting the size of tank in which they live. It doesn't work that way with sharks - no matter how confined their living space may be, they will eat voraciously (probably as much out of boredom as anything else -- something many of us can relate to) and continue to grow. The bigger they get, the more they eat as the vicious cycle continues.

Even small sharks require a tank ranging from 6 x 4 feet to swimming pool size. Number of gallons accommodated in a tank is not the primary factor here but rather surface or cubic feet of unobstructed swimming area. Such pets can also be a potential risk to children and other pets of even the most careful owners, especially after the sharks attain adult size and temperament.

Should the novelty begin to wear off, it may be difficult to unload the creatures on someone else. Public aquariums already are up to their necks in shark-infested waters and strongly discourage more donations. Yah, and no fair dumping unwanted sharks in the Chicago River under cover of night when nobody else is watching -- for obvious reasons, turning a shiver of sharks loose in local waters is unethical, illegal, and just plain courting disaster both for the animals and everyone else. (Note: These same hard lessons have been learned by other exotic pet enthusiasts who have adopted sting rays and guitar fish.)

August 17, 2006 - Malibu, California

Britney Spears asked Kevin Federline, to get rid of his six Australian gray nurse sharks. "Kevin loves those sharks", says a family friend, "he even named them" but Britney had drawn a line in the sand and was holding firm because she felt that her husband's pet sharks were "a bit risky when there are two kiddies around the house."

Sources:

Spears' Pet Sharks by WENN, Entertainment News, May 16, 2006

Pet Sharks, www.Ask.com, posted January 1, 2003

Chicago Aquarium Shelters Baby Sharks, U. P. International, Feb. 9, 2006

Sharks in the Bathtub -- A Bad Idea!, www.newyorktails.com/sharks.htm

Britney Snaps Over Kevin's Six Pet Sharks by Jeannette Walls, www.MSNBC.msn.com, Aug. 17, 2006