Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/exotic-pets-sales/
Wild animals like tigers, cheetahs, lions, primates, and even reptiles are being taken from the wild as pets across the world. Not only do these kinds of animals not belong in a domesticated environment, they are actually dangerous, and suffer greatly by being abused as “pets.”
As Born Free USA reports, around 5,000 tigers alone are estimated to be held by private individuals, but since most states don’t keep accurate records on exotic animals that enter their state, it has become almost impossible to know how many animals are being kept in homes.
Countless tigers were bred, sold, and killed by Joseph Maldonado-Passage, better known as “Joe Exotic.” For years, he abused and sold big cats illegally over state lines, The Washington Post reports.
Exotic animals do not make good pets. They need incredibly specialized care, housing, diets, and freedom that people simply will never be able to provide. Cheetahs for example, have territorial ranges that can exceed 300 square miles. Animals that are used to being able to travel across the plains of the Serengeti whenever they please, will only suffer by being kept inside of a house, the Young People’s Trust for the Environment reports.
The vast majority of people who seek out wild animals to have as “pets” in their home, do so because they think it’s “cool” or many times just as a statement to their wealth. What they don’t think about however, is how it is almost impossible to truly domesticate a wild animal, National Geographic reports.
“The trade of just a handful of cheetahs would have a big impact on the population,” says Sarah Durant of the Zoological Society of London and National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative. Many cheetah populations have fewer than a hundred of the cats, so taking just one can reduce that population’s viability.
Wild animals will always have wild needs. Even animals like parrots have not been domesticated over thousands of years like dogs and cats, making it impossible for them to live under human care, the Association of Zoos & Aquariums reports.
Trying to keep an exotic animal just because it looks cool or because you want to show how much money you have is not worth the toll it takes on the animals themselves. It needs to stop.
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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
