Owning Wild / Exotic pets.

Do you think owning exotic pets (As in wild animals example: Cheetahs & other wild cats) Is wrong or right?
In what situations is it wrong and right.

I personally stand neutral on it. I don't think owning "Wild or exotic" animals is right.
However, I do think helping an abandoned or hurt wild/exotic animal is ok.

What do you guys think?

 

I think that if you have the ability to take care of it in the way that it needs, then it'd be fine. I suppose this mainly goes for people that are extremely wealthy though.

 

Same thoughts as yourself.

However I'd never 'own' one, rather turn it into the RSPCA.

 

Well as you know my stance on this subject, I believe that if the person is well educated in the area of exotic animals, That it is indeed OK to own them. The only problem with this is who really is or isn't educated enough to own such an animal. As I have personally owned a African Serval, Lynx, Snow leopard, and my current cat which is a F1 Bengal ( Half tabby/ Half Asian leopard cat). Well a lot of people fail to see is that these animals have been domesticated in recent years and are no long able to return to the wild. This also can become a problem with wild animals that go through rehabilitation.

New owners of these animals seems to be the problem they go out and buy one or adopt one thinking oh I've got a cool pet. This is completely the wrong mentality to have when taking interest in purchasing these beautiful animals. With bigger animals or animals that are use to living in a large habitat, they need a lot more space and require a lot more patience.

So as I've stated I believe that it should be OK to own these animals. With that being said I think there should be regulation on who can own these animals at the same time. There is responsible breeders that look into a purchasers background, the size of their house, if they can provide financially for the animal, and the environment that the animal will live in. Sadly not all breeders are this responsible.


Off Topic.

My current cat.

 

I agree with Punker;as long as you can take good care of it, go for it.

 

Depends on the circumstances I think,
But it could be wrong and illegal in some places I believe.

 

As long as you can take care of the animal, nothing is wrong with that. Hugh Hefner has a full on zoo in his backyard with all kinds of exotic pets.

 

Bengal Cat? is that an f2 or f3? oh nm I see you said f1 :\

.

If youre going to own a wild animal I think you should be properly trained in handling the animal you own. I dont think some random Joe should try to rehabilitate a Cougar or Cheetah wouldn't be the brightest idea.

 

Thought that it was a baby cheetah

but yeah, I'm with this guy

 

@ Lyt, you're the perfect example of why I will never own an exotic cat.

She's so loud most of the time, which makes you loud yelling at her & I dislike that.
In my opinion cats like that shouldn't be in a home. They should be in the wild.

 

It isn't all right for a certain reason. However, most domestic animals (and a few others ones like lice) Only exist because of humans. Cats and dogs in particular have changed from their original species to become a domestic animal that only survives because humans exist.

Cheetahs and tigers have never mutated from their species to a domesticated one. And humans definitely have domesticated a species for everyone's personality, so taking wild animals and imprisoning them is simply wrong, since it is definitely to late to domesticate any new species.

EDIT: Of course, educational purposes do not count in the above.

 

All my previous animals we're adopted from an animal rescue sanctuary and could not return to the wild for numerous reasons. I obtained a legal document similar to what zoo's need to keep such animals. Thus I was deemed educated enough in the area of large to mid-sized cats to own them and care for them. I believe direct capture and domestication is wrong unless under certain circumstances. Such as an orphaned animal when the species is at risk, An injured animal that needs on going care that can no longer fend for itself, and species that are at risk that have medical issues (such as my lynx that was diabetic).

As I stated before these animals are not appropriate for everyone to own.

@Lym

Yes I yell at my cat lawl cause I don't want her to wake the baby! She can be annoying at times but i love her then again any animal can be in their own way.

 

Wauwwww :love: So sweet

 

It's not really the right thing to do.
However I would LOVE to have a baby tiger that never grew up..

 

This. If you can take care properly of an exotic animal, and you are able to give it a good place to live, something alike his natural habitat, then there's nothing bad on it.

 

If you have the space, the time and the ability to look after them you should be able to, there used to be a tv show called the lion man about some guy from new zeland? i think, i may be wrong though, he adopted two tigers and made a zoo breading and rescuing tigers/lions and other types of animals, sadly though one of the tigers killed a worker at the wildlife park :/ and i think the guy who owned the tigers got sued by his mother and the guy who died parents so i think it all went to shit, although i couldn't tell you, im gonna research it now as i havent looked at it for about 6 months, the show was so good and uplifting though.

Edit, for anyone interested in my post here are some links about the wildlife park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_Wildlife_Gardens
http://sythe.org/showthread.php?p=9687211&posted=1#post9687211

edit 2, ohh this is dissapointing, after looking around apparently the park has closed, that's such a dissapointment :/

 

i dont think its wrong as long as the animal is treated right and the animal enjoys its new home

 

Aslong as they know how to properly take care of the animal, i see it fit for a non-professional ( By that, im thinking of someone whose job it is to actually house endangered species on their property ) to own one.

They keep it ok, and don't ever lose control of the animal if the animal is of a dangerous species, then why not?

However, if the animal is an endangered species, and your not a "professional" i dont believe you should be able to have it.

 

I personally own a Fox. It's legal in Pennsylvania with a class 2 license. I love them more then anything to be honest. They have a musky smell. You pretty much have to get them when they're babies and bottlefeed them. It costs around 900$ to manage to get one if you find a non-abusive seller. You also need a 50 foot or larger closed fence for exercise. Mine personally sleeps inside in the kitchen even though he's not supposed too. He enjoys peanut butter and skinned ribs. So to answer your question, yes, I support it.

 

I think it depends on the situation, it all depends on what kind of animal, what kind of enviorment its in, and how good you take care of it.

I considered buying a hedgehog once, and yes, I wanted to name it sonic.