Exotic Animals Research Paper

“Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more,” (Teale). This quote shows that people who keep wild animals as pets do not realize that the native environment provides the wild animals with the necessities they cannot receive as a pet. Permits should not be given to people to own wild and exotic animals as pets because it is inhumane and dangerous.

Owning an exotic pet can go wrong in a lot of ways and it can seriously harm the animal you are keeping, other animals, and people; including the animal's owner. If someone would want to try to keep one of these animals they would have to put a lot of work, time, and money into it because you have to keep the animal healthy, happy, safe, and you also have to make sure you are keeping everyone else safe including yourself. Still, you could be putting yourself, the animal, and others in danger.

“Man is the cruelest animal.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche. Many americans have pets to keep them company, but some people take this concept to the extreme by keeping exotic animals as pets. Exotic animals should not be kept as pets for various reasons.

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.

While domesticated pets like dogs and cats make good pets many people want to own exotic animals that belong in the wild. These animals range from tigers to pythons, but should not be owned as they need special care most people cannot provide. Not only this, but exotic animals release is harmful for everyone, the exotic animal, humans, and native animals. Lastly, many exotic animals carry diseases that are harmless to them, but fatal to humans. Exotic “pets” are harmful for everyone, not just the pet. This is why people should not be able to own exotic pets.

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, I want to say that it is not because exotic animals are allowed that they are not regulated. Indeed, a lot of people seem to think that if we make exotic animals legal, there are going to be dangerous tigers running through the streets looking for prays. Unlike this common fear, if exotic animals would be allowed as pets, they would need a certain following. Zoologists could evaluate if the animal

The U.S. is a patchwork of varying levels of exotic pet regulation. Some states take the problem seriously and have outright bans on owning dangerous wildlife. Other states, like Florida, ban some dangerous animals but not others. In some states, owning any dangerous wildlife is allowed but requires a permit. And in a handful of states—Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama—all exotic pet ownership is permitted, completely unrestricted and unregulated. Incidents of escape and intentional release abound, as demonstrated by an excellent documentary called The Elephant In The Living

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

Exotic animals kept as house pets are a hazard to the pet owners and any other people around the

Exotic animals such as: lions, tigers, cheetahs, and leopards are not to be used as a pet, they are for studying, Educational learning, and to be admired. Big cats are to be left alone in the wilderness, they are very overprotective, they cause financial hardship, they’re not like the cuddling house pets they will kill you, they do not like being away from other wildlife, and they carry very harmful diseases. Humans do not understand the desires or needs of an exotic animal, so all exotic animals should be ban from private ownership. According to the article “Here’s Why Exotic Animals Belong in the Wild, not as ‘Pets’ in our Backyards” every exotic animal is overprotective, especially the big cats. The big cats are very loyal to their

Exotic animals should not be allowed in our homes as pets. They are too dangerous and could harm another animal we may have or may harm us! So, animals such as pythons and tigers should not be in our homes. If someone got a exotic animal, would they want to keep it forever? I wouldn’t because of the damage and harm they can do, and it would take a long time to tame them if somebody just went out and brought one home from the pet store.

One of the exotic pet owners has kangaroos, and lemurs to use for a petting zoo and charges $35. The article mentions how exotic animals are used as symbols of status and power. Slater states views from advocacy groups who believe exotic animals should not be privately kept. Both sides of an issue are presented. I liked this article because it introduces me to possible naysayers, from people who have no problem with owning exotic pets. There is a part in the article where a man who owned exotic animals later went and took a visit to Africa. He mentions his eyes being opened, and realizing that the wild is where animals belonged. I like how they mention this, because that is what I want people who own exotic large cats to

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.