Exotic Animals Should NOT Be Kept as Pets
As humans, we are naturally intrigued by the unfamiliar, - things that oppose the supposed "norm." We are used to having domesticated pets (dogs, cats, and fish), and they are used to having us. These animals need us in order to survive. Yet we are not used to having exotic pets, nor are they used to having us. These animals can't survive under our possession. Therefore, exotic animals should not be kept as pets. This is because it negatively affects the animals, the environment, humans, and it is illegal in various places.
Negatively Affects the Animals
Humans are ignorant as to what exotic animals need in order to survive. Therefore, humans are incapable of caring for these animals. The little that we do know about what they need for survival is impossible to provide in a domestic environment. Some animals need to walk for miles each day. In an enclosed home, how could this be possible? Other animals need lands as large as cities to live upon. How is this possible in a backyard? Instead, we keep them caged, chained, and beaten. We rip out their teeth and declaw them so they won't hurt us. Have we ever thought that we were hurting them? With such horrible treatment of these animals, malnutrition, stress, trauma, and behavioral disorders are rather likely. Getting medical care for exotic animals is difficult to do and most owners fear bringing their exotic pets to the veterinarian because it is often times illegal to keep them. These vets also don't know much about exotic animals and would not be able to care for them properly. It is also very hard to detect symptoms of illness with these animals for they tend to hide it.
Negatively Affects the Owner
The majority of exotic animals carry diseases. Reptiles most commonly carry diseases. Such diseases they carry are salmonella, shigella bacteria, and intestinal bacteria. All which are dangerous to us humans. This is not uncommon either, about seventy-seven to ninety percent of reptiles carry salmonella and about ninety percent of green iguanas carry intestinal bacteria. There are many other diseases that these animals hold that can be potentially dangerous to people. Examples of these are chlamydia, giardia, hepatitis A, ringworm, tuberculosis, and scabies. Others that are less common are measles, monkey pox, marburg virus, molloscum contagiosum, dermatophytosis, and candidiasis. There are also many others, yet no one really knows the number of diseases that these animals can carry. Yet the diseases that we do know of can be very threatening and possibly fatal to humans. Along with that, these creatures are also capable of biting, scratching, and stinging. We must remember that these animals are not domesticated and they are not used to our environment. Therefore, they will act differently in these surroundings because they feel threatened. They will then resort to defending themselves which can result in violence. They are more likely to do these things than to bond with their owner(s).
Negatively Affects the Environment
Exotic animals obviously live in the wilderness and when they are taken from here, it tends to disrupt the environment that they were once living in. In numerous scenarios, it is illegal to take these creatures from their homes due to the fact that many of them are endangered or threatened species. When the owner becomes frustrated with caring for their exotic pet(s) due to their many needs that can't be taken care of in a domestic environment, they don't know what to do with them. Many resort to "letting them loose" which is illegal and can be very dangerous. They can spread diseases to native species, possibly killing other animals and plants. They can also attack humans. Not only that but this is cruel to the animal for they are not adapted to that environment.
Its Against the LawThe American Veterinary Medical Association, the United Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have all spoken out against the keeping of exotic animals as pets. Some state laws and some local laws ban the selling and the keeping of these animals. Others require getting a license in order to sell and keep them. Although these laws are established, we must use our common sense and sympathy if we want to keep these animals safe from harm.
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This video depicts the dangers of keeping exotic animals as pets.
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