Wildlife festival brings awareness to the importance of research before considering animal ownership

By Lethbridge Herald on January 19, 2026.

By Alexandra Noad

Lethbridge Herald-Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Many people find companionship with owning pets, but one rescue is raising awareness on why doing thorough research before owning a furry, spikey or scaley animal is important for the wellbeing of the critters through their interactive exhibit, which made its way to Lethbridge this past weekend.

Cobb’s Exotic Animal Rescue began in 2020 and has rescued over 50 exotic animals including sugar gliders, tortoises and wallaby’s.

They began travelling across the country in 2022 to bring education on exotic animals to people across Canada.

Mark Powers, general manager of Cobbs Exotic Animal Rescue, says while all of the animals they bring to their shows can be owned as pets, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

Powers says the main message of these exhibits is to do your homework, then do it again, to make sure you’re giving the animal the best quality of life you can.

“If you can’t give that sort of quality to the animal, then it’s best not to own one.”a

He adds this homework process can also include how noisy the animal can get along with how long they live, because some reptiles such as tortoises, are a multigenerational commitment.

“We have eight sulcata tortoises and a lot of them are because people will outgrow them or something happens tragically in the family and the family is like ‘I can’t care for this,’ so they’ll call us up and we take them in.”

While Cobb’s festival provides education, they also provide interactive demos and opportunities to interact with the animals themselves, an enjoyable experience for young and old alike.

All proceeds of the events go back to their rescue organization where they take care of animals whose owners are unable to care for them.

Cobbs is also doing research on potentially running a foster program where people could foster snakes, sugar gliders and even tortoises, while still ensuring the animals are still properly cared for.

Powers says Cobb’s Exotic Animal Rescue looks forward to returning back to Lethbridge next year.