Cross Breeds

What are your thoughts on keeping wild animals as pets?

I personally think any animals outside of domesticated animals should be kept in the wild. People wonder why they get attacked from their "pet". What are your thoughts on this?

Public Comments

1. I think it should be ok as long as you can tame it not to hurt other people. If you can't then you can't have one simple as that. A dog for instance you can't have a dog running around biting people it has to be civil like my little chihuahua snugging up as I write this lol. 1 wild pet I would like to have is a squirrel they look awesome.
2. There is a mindset in certain humans that says it's cool to be seen to "own" or have control over a strong, powerful, volatile animal (they must be real men if they can master such a beast). At the least, this leads to people owning potentially vicious dogs and at worst to people living in apartments with tigers. A part of me almost feels sorry for these misguided people.
3. Yeah I don't think trying to domesticate the wild ones like chimps, apes or the like is a good idea. There's too many horror stories out there. Which reminds me of the chimp whose owner (she referred to him as his mother) would lie in bed and drink wine with her. One day her friend came over and he mauled her. I believe they had to kill the chimp. I do not know who to feel more sorry for, the "mother", her chimp, or the friend. It's a tie. I think the woman whose face got ripped up is getting the most sympathy from people because of the physical damages but the psychological and emotional damage the chimp and the mom went through are also, like the friend's face, irreparable. I can't imagine what was going on through chimp's head when his own "mother" shot him. He may never get an answer for that since he died. As for the other two, they have time to heal and figure things out.
4. I totally agree with you. I think it is cruel to try and domesticate a wild animal they are not meant to be pets.
5. U can keep wild animals as pets unless and until you dwell in forest
6. I think its disgusting. Wild animals belong in the wild. All animals do. Unfortunately, animals such as dogs and cats have been to domesticated and wouldn't survive in the wild just yet. But for animals who are indeed still wild, they should never be forced to live with humans somewhere (unless the animal is being rehabilitated in a safe and as natural as possible environment and then being released back into the wild). Honestly, if you keep a wild animal as a "pet" you deserve to be attacked by him or her.
7. LOVELY>>> i always dreamed of having a tiger, lion. or cheetah. wolf or any other wild animals as pets. they are awesome and active like me so they would keep me busy well. siiighhh too bad we can't ):
8. I don't agree with it, unless they are injured or rescued. And I still don't think they should be viewed as "pets." They are thinking, breathing, living, unpredictable beings and people shouldn't view them as their property, wild or domesticated. Birds, reptiles, arachnids, monkeys, etc. I feel should only be living with someone if they are injured and need a home until they can survive in their natural habitat.
9. i think its unfair and stupid but, all animals were wild at some point, and we domesticated them, and now they are pets, so it begins somwhere
10. I'd imagine being domesticated wouldn't go well with their developed wild instincts, especially if they don't have mild temperament by nature.
11. I don't agree with it for the most part but on one occasion a few years back, a doe was shot near my house with her fawn right beside her. The man got a pretty heavy fine and everyone was happy about that. That same doe and fawn had routinely wandered into my yard to eat apples off my apple tree and smell my horses paddock. The fawn came right down to the house when my horse was outside and he slipped right under the fence and they nuzzled. (My horses previous owner had kept her in a tiny stall and she had rolled over on her colt and killed him so she was very motherly to small animals) I couldn't believe it and I couldn't just throw him out on his own so I left out food for him and fed him and he would sleep in my blueberry field at night under the same tree every night. He didn't exactly becom tame, he let me pat his head and he would eat from my hand, but he mostly stayed with my horse and would run away if my dog came near him or if any other human tried to pat him. He stayed at my house for about a year then one day, he left at night and never came back. I do hope he made it out okay, but I didn't want to make an excuse to not show kindness to an orphaned animal. If an animal needs help, regardless of what type of animal it is, I will help. That doesn't mean I want to put a collar on it and make it my pet though. Also, my two cats that I have now were born from two generations of feral cats and were completely wild as kittens but I still adopted them because my aunt couldn't afford to feed all the cats that came to her house. They still are a bit wild and they growl at each other over food, something my other cat(A shelter cat) has never done. People should not keep wild animals as "pets" but its like what my grandmother does. In the winter, when there isn't a lot of food, she feeds a ton of deer that wander into her yard. Come spring, she scares them off so they don't come back onto her lawn and become domesticated now that there is food.
12. I saw this guy walking his two pit bulls near me while I was walking home. I maintained my distance, that's for sure. I don't mess with them. I read that Kansas City, Mo., Denver, Colo., and Ontario ban the ownership of pit bulls. I think other cities, at least major cities, should follow them or require permits to own pit bulls.
13. I think it's-- A) Illegal and B) Freaking stupid If they can't live in the wild due to injury or human imprinting, then keep them in a sanctuary where they can still be taken care of and live as normal a life as they possibly can.
14. Definitely NOT a good idea. A wild animal such as a tiger will always be wild no matter how much it has been trained, or has lived in captivity.
15. They are meant to be out in the wild and never domesticated. I personally love birds, i think they are beautiful and i'd love to have one..but if you have them as a pet, they are kept in cages..and they don't fly anymore..A rather depressing life, in my opinion. They have wings..They are meant to be outside. I also love tigers, gosh i think they are probably one of the most beautiful animals on the planet! But i could never keep one..they don't know how to really act around humans.AND we shouldn't change that either. Our entire ecosystem will be screwed up. If i ever had a pet bird, they can come visit me anytime THEY want to. If it's any other wild animal, i'll probably visit them in their habitat..if i am worthy enough.
16. If the animal is injured past the point where it can't take care of its self in the wild anymore then it is ok. Other than that no.
17. I think there are more than enough domesticated (or at least born in captivity) animals that need homes for everyone to have a pet. And I'm not just talking about dogs and cats, plenty of other animals raised to be house pets (birds, rodents, reptiles, fish ect..,) need homes too. When my husband and i took in our parrot, he came from a dedicated avian shelter. They had over 100 ("domesticated", and unable to live in the wild) parrots, with more coming in every day, and rarely anyone willing to adopt one. I'm sure there are plenty of other shelters with all kinds of creatures that couldn't survive in the wild that need loving homes, No need to take a wild animal out of the wild.
18. A "wild" animal domesticated as a pet is no longer wild. All the animal species we now consider "domesticated" either as pets or as farm animals were at one time "wild". Just because an animal like a tiger is more dangerous and "majestic looking" than a 5 lb chihuahua or cat does not make it more of an animal than the latter. They still round up wild horses to be "tamed". Feral cat and dogs still become safely "domesticated" after generations living in the (sometimes urban) "wild". Snakes, fish, lizards, birds/raptors (like falcons ) etc are still sometimes dangerous and "wild" even in a domestic setting but are relatively safe as "pets". The practicality of owning one because of size and feed/care seems to be the the bigger factor rather than the species itself. It is funny that when people say "wild" they automatically think of lions, tigers, bear, wolves etc. Even ants living in a kid's ant farm are really "wild" animals. They also seem to have this romantic vision of the "wild" as some sort of garden of Eden where everyone lives side by side in peaceful coexistence. The wild is a "dirty" and violent place, where one species is another specie's food. Where the "kids" often die off before their first birthday often even before the first week of life from predators, disease, hunger and other causes. Where the mundane task of drinking from a pond or river etc becomes an issue of life or death.