Exotic Animals Research Paper

People who keep exotic animals as pets do not realize the danger they are putting on the animals or themselves. There have been around 2,000 incidents involving captive exotic pets that have been reported and 75 reported deaths between the years of 1990

Many people own different species of exotic animals, and they keep them as pets. One kind of exotic animal that is kept is tigers. Around 5,000 to 7,000 tigers are kept as pets. More tigers are being kept as pets than there are in the wild,

According to Mia Lewis, author of Do You Really Want a Baby Tiger, there has been a huge increase in the amount of people who own exotic animals in the states. Many people find the need to have an exotic animal to stand out from all the rest. Although most people don’t understand how costly it is to own an exoctic animal or how you have to furfill their needs and even the dangers of owning an exoctic pet which is why owning an exoctic pet is not a good idea.

Owning exotic animals is both cruel to the animal its self and dangerous to those who care for the animals. Keeping exotic animals as pets is cruel. In the article Do You Really Want a Baby Tiger? by Mia Lewis the author states “The end result is that far too many of these exotic animals spend almost their entire lives in the ‘prison’ of a small cage.” Obviously, exotic animals are meant to be in environments that promote their natural behavior; forcing these animals to be locked up in a small pen

In most places owning a dog or cat is second nature, but what about a tiger, bear or maybe python? Exotic pet ownership is far from having a clear right or wrong answer but it is in need of a ban for both the protection of animal and owner.For exotic pet owners, owning a wild beast insures a sense of power and uniqueness. It is also their way of contributing to the conservation of a species by having a “backup population” once human population growth and habitat destruction has resulted in extinction (Slater 113). But in reality the ownership of wild animals as pets only helps to damage already fragile ecosystems, both the one from which they came from and the new one in which they find themselves. Animals in captivity are also stripped of a natural life in the wild, free of confinement and unsuitable care. Finally, the risk to humans is very large, injuries inflicted from exotic pets are dangerous and possibly deadly. Bans vary from state to state, ranging from no ban to partial ban to complete ban, but even in states with full bans, exotic pet ownership still occurs. Private ownership of an exotic animal as a pet should be banned in the US, due to disruptions in ecosystems, the dangers that wild animals are exposed too, and the risks to the owners of these pets.

Although it may be different and fun to own an exotic animal, they require special care that most people just cannot provide. Many supporters claim they are just like other pets, but they require care that is very difficult to provide. This includes, a special diet, housing, and maintenance. These standards cannot be met by an average person, so Instead of trying to meet these animals needs, owners use cruel methods to make them more “pet like,” and domesticated. These methods include bleak or lifeless enclosures, and even chaining and beating. It’s thought people can domesticate these animals but that’s not the case. This would take several years of breeding. The problems go even further after this. Animals also often have things like claw and tooth removal, which are extremely painful. If a person cannot take care of the animal they turn to zoos, however zoos cannot take care of all the exotic pets handed over to

Every child has asked their parents for a pet animal. The thing is though, is what type of animal they asked for. Such as a dog or cat and even the occasional hippopotamus for Christmas, right? Lots of people buy exotic animals not knowing how much work it really takes to take care of them. For example, many people have bought pythons and when they get to a size where they can’t keep care of them they let them go into the wild. Exotic animals are very costly and time consuming, they grow up and get bigger and all in all they are very dangerous.

The laws on having exotic animals is a very controversial topic. Most people think that there should be stricter laws on the care and keeping of exotic animals. Two articles that talk about this issue are “State leaders say lion, tiger owners need more rules than the law of the jungle,” (Newsela) and “Ohio exotic animals band to fix ‘entirely unacceptable’ lack of laws.” (Huffington Post) Both articles say, for various reasons, that there should be more laws on exotic animals.

To begin with, exotic animals should be banned from society because they are unpredictable. People tend to not want exotic animals due to their natural and wild instincts. One may never be able to predict a wild animal’s next move because “a wild animal is never one hundred percent predictable” (Lewis 41-42). This implies that these dangerous pets can make any wrong move at any time because these animal have not been domesticated. Also, one may keep them in a cage due to “exotic animals can injure

Not only is the owner risking the animal’s life but also putting its own life in danger. An exotic animal’s behavior can change at any time for many reasons in ways we do not understand (“Exotic” 1). There have been cases of animals attacking innocent people without a reason. A couple of years ago, randomly an apparently obedient elephant named Tinkerbell broke the back of a caretaker and the pelvis of another (Gambardello and Flam 1). Even tamed animals sometimes have their outbreaks and attack people. While the animals are young they are cute but as they grow older they grow stronger, and the stress of living in an unknown and unnatural habitat causes the animals to begin to lash out, mostly at small kids (Lallanilla 1). Caging an animal may not be the best solution. It can cause the animal to get more aggressive and react in an attacking mood as well.

Exotic animals belong in the wild because the reason they are exotic is because they cannot be tamed like any other pet, and if they can’t be tamed, they can become a harm to the owner and to others that the animal feel threatened by. Injury and possibly death is likely to happen under such circumstances of the animals being neglected. Another reason why I believe that exotic animals do not belong under human captivity as pets is because it is harmful to the pets and the nature of them. Some animals need their families to survive and they also need to learn to hunt in order for them to survive. Once an exotic animal becomes the pet of someone, it becomes dependent which is unhealthy for the animal, especially if they are brought under captivity at such an early age. Owning exotic animals as keeping them as pets should be illegal is what I believe is right.

Some exotic animals are animal friendly, and might let you play with it, and it’s okay for people to keep them as pets. “My python has taught me responsibility. I control the temperature in its cage and feed it. Researchers at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics in England found that 75% of pet reptiles and amphibians die in their first year.

The question of humanity arises every couple of years, on the topic - should exotic animals be allowed to be kept as pets. Is it humane for the beings who feel pain, give birth, take care of their young like human beings do to be behind bars? According to the National Geographic 66 percent of wild animals are owned privately while the 28 percent of the animals reside in the zoo. Some of the exotic animals can be found as pets rather than in the wild. The estimated number of Tigers kept as pets are between 5,000 and 7,000, which is more than the ones that exist in the wild. Interested buyers can purchase a tiger cheaper than some of the purebred dogs, for the price as shocking as 300 dollars. Though some states in the United States do allow wild animals as pets, it is still illegal in most states or require a license for it. Most of the animals as pets are through illegal routes like underground auctions and smuggling.

Exotic animals should be banned from being purchased, hunted, and or traded from their natural habitat. People can look at an exotic animal for a couple minutes, but captivity affects their whole life. Exotic animals caged in non-natural habitats can experience many physical, and mental issues.

A second reason why you might not want an exotic animal as a pet they could try to eat you or your other animal if you have another animal. I sure would not want a pet that can eat me. Would you? A exotic animal that could try to eat you is a Burmese python. Those types of pythons live in Florida & on other continents.