Should wild animals be kept as pets? A definition of a wild animal is a living creature that is not a plant, and is untamed or
domesticated, in a natural state. The definition for a domestic animal is any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment. Many people choose to keep wild animals for pets. Why do they do it? Is it for their own benefit or for the animals? How can they care for them properly, and is it fair to the animal? These are questions that must be answered in order to make choices that are in the animals best interest. I personally believe that wild animals should not be kept as pets.
When people get a wild animal as a pet they do it because no one else has one. They may have dogs,cats and birds but not a tiger or a chimpanzee. When people buy these types of animals they struggle to provide the correct care for the animal. They may also struggle to provide the correct exercise for the animal. Owning a wild animal is a hard task because these animals need lots of space, and if you don't have that space they will become stressed and may act out violently. Sometimes people can not provide the correct diet that the animal needs because it is to expensive or it is just to hard to find. Imagine trying to feed a lion or a tiger every day, they need a huge amount of food daily. Some people also think that they are treating their animal well when they are actually treating them wrong. For example, Michael Jackson owned a chimp called Bubbles. Bubbles was treated by Michael like a human. He lived inside the house and was free roaming, he ate at the table with Michael and his family and he even wore clothes. This was bad for the chimp because he was in an environment that was totally wrong for him. Soon the Jackson's had to put him in a cage because he was beginning to hit people, be disobedient, and become aggressive. As Bubbles entered his teenage years he became strong and Michael could no longer control him. He became a danger to Michael and his family. Bubbles simply became to dominate in the house.
Michael Jackson's chimp had become to dominate because no one could stop him from doing what came natural to him. When he became to strong and had grown up, people started to see that he could be a dangerous threat. Animals like chimps are very active and need lots of exercise. When chimps are kept cramped in crates and cages they can become angry or stressed. If they get the chance they might actually attack and cause serious damage. This would be more likely if you were not the owner because the chimp doesn't know you. This happened to a women called Charla Nash in 2009. Her friend asked her to feed her chimp called Travis while she was away and one day as she opened the cage the chimp attacked her. This attack ended in tragedy. Luckily, Charla survived but she was seriously injured. Charla is now permanently blind,she has no nose and can only eat soft food. The chimp ripped her nose off along with her lips and ears. He also ripped off one hand and fingers on the other hand. I believe this happened because the chimp was in a small cage, was a strong male chimp, and he was not familiar with Charla. He felt threatened and therefor he attacked her. Could this tragedy have happened because the chimp was stressed? Because he didn't have the right care?
People who purchase wild animals as pets do not always take into consideration the right care or history of the animal. The history of the animal is very important because if it was caught in the wild then it wil most likely be scared,afraid, and it might possibly attack. Many animals are bred in captivity over many years from a breeder, which may possibly give it the extra safety touch, but there's no guarantee. Sometimes people by wild animals or exotic animals from the black market. Smuggling animals is worth approximately 10-20 billion US dollars, it comes second only to drug smuggling in the United States. A forty two year old man from South America smuggled birds in to Los Angeles Airport in his luggage and two slow loris' ( a type of primate) in his underwear. His friend was also caught with two Asian leopard cats in his backpack. This was terrible because these animals were caught wild and then taken away from their home and sold to people who might not know enough about the animal, might not know how to care for them correctly. People even kill animals so that people will buy the products taken from them, like horns,tusks even heads of animals. "When the buying stops the killing does too!"
Talking care of a wild animal is a tremendous challenge, to find it, to give it the right exercise and to care for it properly are extremely difficult things to do. There are very few people in the world who have the knowledge to care for a wild animal successfully. If a wild animal can not be in its natural habitat then the next best place for it to be is a reserve or sanctuary, or even a zoo... not at a regular person's home. Wild animals should not be kept as pets.
