Have you ever wondered what it would be like owning a tiger or a monkey? It would be interesting, that's for sure. But it is also extremely unethical. You see, these animals are recognized as exotic pets when privately owned. And an exotic pet is a rare or unusual pet that generally lives in the wild. For example, a chimpanzee, leopard, sloth, skunk, and squirrel are all exotic animals that should not be kept as a domesticated animal like a cat or dog would be. Today I will talk about the three reasons you shouldn't purchase an exotic animal—one of them being that these animals are crucial to the environment. For example:
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| Squirrels plant at least 100 trees a year |
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Beavers help prevent floods and wildfires |
Monkeys help disperse seeds and fertilize the soil
—another one of these reasons being that we can't keep up with the needs these animals have. In nature, there is consistently stimulation and there are always things going on. If you look at a big parrot being kept in a cage sometimes they have patches of no feathers and bare skin. These patches are due to the parrot being bored and plucking out its feathers as a result. Isn't that awful. And if you are still considering having a big cat, know that you have to have at least 5 acres of land. At least. These animals can roam freely in the wild, so 5 acres of land is really not that much. They also need at least 15 pounds of bleeding meat every day, a health hazard for people, and at least 10,000 dollars a year. Notice how everything has an "at least" before it? That's because this is the bare minimum. Saying that you can privately keep a happy wild cat in captivity is like saying you can fly. It's an utterly unrealistic thing to say. Finally, these animals can get very dangerous and unpredictable. There are many stories of attacks on people by these pets because the animal is merely bored and frustrated. When I was younger, I remember hearing about this lady who got her face torn off by her best friend's chimpanzee. And this chimp wasn't mean spirited; it was even a therapy animal and had been in captivity it's entire life. The chimp ended up getting shot. Imagine just being so confused and so angry that you do something terrible and get shot for it. What the chimp did was not right, but it was not supposed to be kept privately in the first place. You see, I understand that it would be cool to have an exotic, uncommon animal kept in your basement, but after you think about how cruel it is, it's not as cool. So, getting an exotic animal is not a good thing to do. To support animals having free, happy lives, you simply can choose not to purchase one. It's as easy as that.
Sources:
“Getting Started with Your Pet Bird.” The Spruce Pets, www.thesprucepets.com/bird-basics-4162100.
“10 Fun Facts about Animals to Make You Smile.” Goodnet, 19 Nov. 2020, www.goodnet.org/articles/10-fun-facts-about-animals-to-make-you-smile.
“What It Takes to Feed Exotic Animals.” The Columbus Dispatch, The Columbus Dispatch, 20 Oct. 2011, www.dispatch.com/article/20111020/news/310209666.
