Channel Button

There are 9 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #4 by Helium's members.

Pets & Animals   >

Exotic Pets & Animals

Get a Widget for this title

Pros and cons of keeping wild animals as pets

Title endorsed in part by:

Many people can't do without expressing what they define a great love for animals with an irresistible desire of keeping a wild animal as a pet in their house.

Maybe, I'm only a boring moralist, but I think this is not love for animals but simple egoism and this opinion also coincides with that of the authorities that tend to prohibit the detention of wild animal from local fauna and many species of the foreign one (unluckily, with many, too many exceptions).

These persons, who even made great endeavours to get iguanas, snakes, spiders, turtles, felines and monkeys, don't realize that wild animals must always live in their natural environment and living in a house (although with a garden) is like living in a cage, or in a zoo. Here, their life must undergo many adaptations that can shorten their lifespan and make them lose some fundamental instincts, like finding food, defending themselves from predators or concurrent and reproduce.

These animals can't even been reintroduced in nature, after being born in captivity or having spent some years in this conditions, as it happens for social animals, like lions and hyenas. Mammals and birds love and respect their owners if they make the same, but they become too dependent on them.

Other problems regard the house, too little or inadequate for wild animals; for ex., chimpanzees become too irritable and violent because they try to become the leaders of the family and the same happens with bears and other mammals. Other monkeys continuously make mess and damage, running and playing across your house. They show you their instinct is just moving in total freedom across the forest, from a branch to another and your house and garden can never be similar to a forest.

Furthermore, pythons and iguanas can be dangerous for children and guests and bite them, if not carefully treated and controlled. On the more reason, if the animals you "love" so much are poisonous snakes or spiders, they must be kept in glass boxes, real prison for their whole life. How can you impose them such a kind of life?

Lions and cheetahs are relatively frequent in the houses of rich people in Africa, Europe and America; when adult, they can become territorial and dangerous, especially for visitors, they use to play too heavily with their claws and teeth, although they absolutely don't have bad intentions, until wounding you or your relatives. Moreover, an adult lion eats at least 20-30 Kg of meat/day and this can be a great problem for your budget, in the


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Pros and cons of keeping wild animals as pets

  • 1 of 9

    by Christine Cameron

    Can Bambi Live Happily In A Fenced In Yard

    As you drive home from a weekend of camping with your family, you notice a motionless

    read more

  • 2 of 9

    by Gabrielle Keen

    In New Zealand, The Land of the Long White Cloud, we have many beautiful and unique native birds. Some of them are endangered.

    read more

  • 3 of 9

    by Rex Trulove

    Many people find it very difficult when they see an interesting or adorable wild animal, to resist the urge to take it

    read more

  • 4 of 9

    by Aldo Bonincontro

    Many people can't do without expressing what they define a great love for animals with an irresistible desire of keeping

    read more

  • 5 of 9

    by Holli Ireland

    As a teen and young adult, I was blessed with the opportunity to live with and get to know a woman who was a licensed wild

    read more

View All Articles on:
Pros and cons of keeping wild animals as pets

Add your voice

Know something about Pros and cons of keeping wild animals as pets?
We want to hear your view. Write_penWrite now!

Helium Debate

Cast your vote!

Is keeping aquarium fish cruel?

Click for your side.

99218

Featured Partner

National Autism Association (NAA)

The National Autism Association (NAA) has partnered with Helium, giving you the chance to donate your article earning...more

Helium, Inc.
200 Brickstone Square Andover, MA 01810 USA