Wild animals as pets?

[indra_fanatic]

Everyone,

I know that generally keeping wildlife as a pet for any longer period of time than is needed for rehabilitation if sick or injured is generally illegal, but in the circumstances that it is not, how do you feel about it?

Brian

 

[Adela]

I think it should be illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet and I think zoos and circuses should be done away with. I believe God created each animal for a certain reason and many of them were not meant to be pets...that's why they have such strong survival instincts.

For example, in the wild, tigers are actaully mentally stimulated by hunting. They spend hours doing this. They don't this stimulation from being kept in a cage. Animals also have their own social structure, like killer whales who live within their family structure their entire lives. In captivity they don't get this social interaction.

I really hate seeing birds in cages. They often mutilate their own feathers because they get bored. Birds have wings for a reason.

I really wish more people would think about things like this and stop supporting circuses and zoos and especially stop keeping animals like birds as pets. Get a dog or cat.

Ok, I'm done now.

 

[country woman]

The reason wild animals are wild cause they cannot be fully tamed. Its not fair to the animal and not the person either. you can never trust a wild animal no matter how small or large they may be. Domesticated animals would not fair so well in the wild either.My favorite wild animals are Orcas and wolves.

 

[chipmunk]

Most of the time, no, I don't agree with having wild animals as pets. Most people don't have the resources to keep wild animals happy and healthy.

Zoos often times help with conservation and protection of endangered species. They also help raise awareness of the problems. Some smaller zoos are a bit suspicious to me, and some find their way into the news for abuse. I actually live near a small zoo. However, all their animals are rescues from individuals that bought them having no idea how to actually care for them. They've been too tamed to release or some even "damaged" too much to release (might be missing a limb, or poor nutrition messed up their sight, etc). The animals in various states of rehabilitation seemed to be doing well--they have clean areas to roam around in, and fresh food, and they seemed fond of the caretakers when we saw them feeding a few.

Circuses? I honestly haven't read enough about them to either condem them or commend them.

 

[Adela]

I actually wrote a paper about this last semester and some of the stories I heard about circuses were horrible.

Yes, some zoos do have animals that have been too tamed to live in the wild, but some of the zoos also breed those animals. They then end up bringing more animals into that life for a profit.

Do some research on it and you'll be shocked.
Even if you don't know much about circuses you can just think about it and know it's wrong. Think about how the animals live. They travel in trucks, get chained up and kept in cages, and are placed in front of hundreds of loud children and forced to perform tricks. That's a huge difference from how they would be living in a jungle somewhere.

Even places where the animals seem happy to be entertaining aren't good for the animals.

I know that the animals that are currently in captivity can't just be released. I just don't think that more should be brought into that life just to entertain us humans.

 

[country woman]

Some circuses are awful. some of the animals are negleted and put in very small cages. Some zoos are no better.

 

[Sabina41]

I can't stand circuses, but as a biologist to attack zoos as well is a bit infuriating. Zoos have done marvelous work in the area of conservation and there are many species of animals being sustained in the wild through the work of zoos (i.e. CA condors). Without the work of conservationists and zoos and biological parks, many extremely endangered animals would fade into oblivion.

 

[Moros]

My cat is feral. Hamsters are also feral. Just to give some common examples.

The fact of the matter is, the average person doesn't have the knowledge or capacity to care for wild animals. The reason they're wild is that they haven't been domesticated. These things take a very long time.

 

[Zoomer]

I believe that wild animals haven't been domesticated for a reason, and they should be left wild.

 

[TexasSky]

Everyone,

I know that generally keeping wildlife as a pet for any longer period of time than is needed for rehabilitation if sick or injured is generally illegal, but in the circumstances that it is not, how do you feel about it?

Brian

Every species of animal on the earth was wild at one time. The few times I have actually known people with "wild animals" as pets, the animals (with one exception) have been as happy as the owners, and they were healthier and safer. However, I've seen cases where the animals are not healthier, safer or happier.

I think so much depends on how you describe owning something as pets. My Uncle had a ranch. On it there were both coyotes and deer that would let him pet them, and who would eat out of his hands. He didn't lock them in cages, put collars on them, etc.

Another time he saved a small raccoon, and it grew up to be something like a house pet. It was adorable, funny, and thought it was people. It was dangerous though because my Uncle will never remove an animal's ability to protect itself, so this thing kept its claws and teeth.

The exception I mentioned above was when someone caught a Mountain Lion and de-clawed it, then caged it. I think that was just wrong.

 

[TexasSky]

The reason wild animals are wild cause they cannot be fully tamed. Its not fair to the animal and not the person either. you can never trust a wild animal no matter how small or large they may be. Domesticated animals would not fair so well in the wild either.My favorite wild animals are Orcas and wolves.

That isn't true.
A lot of animals that are considered "wild" can be tamed. We just haven't chosen to do so as a society.

My friend has two wolves that she rescued as cubs. They are full grown now. People are always talking about they can never really be tamed. They are no different around Patty than my Rottweiler is around my son. They are fiercly protective of Patty, but they also are like babies begging for attention from Patty. (Very big babies.)

 

[Flopsy Rabbit]

Yes, wild animals can become tame, generally if they are gotten very young it is easier, and if they have been gotten grown up they may only be tame to their owner and the people that they are used to. It takes alot of time and patience to tame a wild animal and also thought to the type of habit you provide for them. Also consideration for how they will react to strangers and appropriate protection for both them and the strangers. Some years ago it was very common for people to make wild animals domestic and keep them as pets, rats, mice, rodents of all kinds, squirrells, frogs, salamanders, turtles, raccoons, possums, skunks, ... I even have an old childrens book called keeping wild animals as pets that tells how to catch them, what to feed them, how to house them... That was back in the days when people had more common sense and America was more free and not control happy. Wild animals can be very happy living in domestic situations if they have an owner who loves them and spends time with them. They no longer have to live every minute in fear of preditors, go hungry, thirsty or cold, or worry for their basic needs. They dont have to worry if they get sick because there is someone there to help them feel better.