Wild Animals As Pets

[Crombo]

Well, i was watching a program on T.V. and i saw a guy that owned a tiger cub, he is really attatched to it and treats it like a dog and a cat,basically.

What i would like is other people's opinions on if it's right to have animals such as Tigers and Leopards or any sort of animal that's 'wild' (i know there's like wild dogs and wild guinea pigs, but that's not the class i'm on about).

I do think it's cute to have a little furry cub as your pet, but that cub is isolated from it's species and relies on humans to feed it instead of hunting for it's food. I'm not sure what my verdict is,that's why i made this thread, to see other people's opinions on this subject.

 

[lreal]

What's the difference between this and any domesticated animal? House dogs and cats were once 'wild' to you know.

As a side point, do you know where the beef we eat comes from? Loads of cattle are penned/fed in ranches in similar conditions to a concentration camp until we decide to kill/process it for the meat. These are also 'wild' animals that we have decided to isolate.

Compared to all the horrible things we already do to animals, keeping a pet tiger doesn't seem all that bad to me. You probably just need to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of others.

 

[moogling]

I suppose it is okay, as long as they are abiding by the law wherever they live and such. It's okay with me, just once I see that it becomes I threat to my neighborhood or a threat to whoever is living in the house, then I would want it removed. We evolved for a reason, right? So we wouldn't have to defend ourselves from wild animals so often as other species.

I myself wouldn't house a non-domesticated animal. Yes, they were once wild, once being the key word. They've become used to seeing humans around and they would only attack if they thought they were in danger. Although I've seen some horrible dogs, one even got ballsy enough to try and attack me, I think that those types of dogs are certain breeds. My dog for example acts like a human, pretty much. She's calm and collected, as opposed to if you were to touch a tiger in the wrong spot he would bite your face off, and probably end up killing you in the process.

 

[CassinoChips]

What's the difference between this and any domesticated animal? House dogs and cats were once 'wild' to you know.

Because they're not domesticated. And no matter how much training you do with a wild animal, they're still wild. And tigers grow to be slightly larger than a typical house cat. I can handle my 12 pound cat being rambunctious. If my 800 pound tiger starts wanting to play and/or gets agitated, something bad is going to happen.

Also, the tiger cub is cute and cuddly, and is relativly low maintenance. A full grown tiger should have a significant amount of land to roam, and probably requires hundreds of pounds of meat, raw at that, to maintain the necessary caloric intake.

Nine times out of ten, what happens is that when a wild animal reaches that stage where they're no longer cute and cuddly, and they get to a point where they're nearly impossible to take care of, they get abandoned. Then it's up to government agencies to wrangle them and get them to where they need to be.

It's harmful to the person who 'owns' the animal, it's harmful to anyone in their vicinity, and it's harmful to the animal itself. It should be strictly outlawed.

 

[Marquis of Granby]

For anyone who has a cat or a dog, you'll know even a playful bite can be sore and cats can fairly scratch you to bits. If you piss off a fully grown tiger I very much doubt the result will be anything close to the playful bite of a dog, or a wee scratch from a cat. You might also have some issues taking a fully grown tiger for a walk; a large dog pulling on the end of a lead can be bad enough but a swift yank from a tiger and you'd be flat on your face indefinitely. Even with YEARS of training a man could never hope to have control over an animal like that. It's dangerous and stupid.

There's a reason why our domestic cats are the way they are: small. We don't have to spend a fortune to feed them and there's very little chance of them taking our head/limbs off when we do something to annoy them. Furthermore there's a reason animals like this are kept in caged/enclosed areas in zoos. Even if they were born in captivity.

We can't domestic everything. People need to understand this and leave nature alone.

Just to drag my point out even more ('cause that's what I do).

I do think it's cute to have a little furry cub as your pet, but that cub is isolated from it's species and relies on humans to feed it instead of hunting for it's food.

I wouldn't quite fancy trying to tell a fully grown tiger when and what it can eat. And I don't think your neighbours would appreciate "My tiger was hungry." or "it just wanted to play" as an excuse for their dead dog/cat.

 

[lreal]

Because they're not domesticated. And no matter how much training you do with a wild animal, they're still wild. And tigers grow to be slightly larger than a typical house cat. I can handle my 12 pound cat being rambunctious. If my 800 pound tiger starts wanting to play and/or gets agitated, something bad is going to happen.

Also, the tiger cub is cute and cuddly, and is relativly low maintenance. A full grown tiger should have a significant amount of land to roam, and probably requires hundreds of pounds of meat, raw at that, to maintain the necessary caloric intake.

Nine times out of ten, what happens is that when a wild animal reaches that stage where they're no longer cute and cuddly, and they get to a point where they're nearly impossible to take care of, they get abandoned. Then it's up to government agencies to wrangle them and get them to where they need to be.

It's harmful to the person who 'owns' the animal, it's harmful to anyone in their vicinity, and it's harmful to the animal itself. It should be strictly outlawed.

All valid points; however I was just responding toward the OP's concern about the tiger being isolated from its species.

Of course having a wild animal is more dangerous than a dog/cat for a number of reasons. This is why we have something called "strict liability" in our legal system (United States that is) which pertains to 'wild' animals.

I think there are ample precautions that an owner can take to be safe (to self and others) so strictly outlawing ownership would be a grave imposition on that person's freedom of choice. Of course this is just my opinion.

 

[Dionysos]

Yeah… People let their cats wander around the streets doing their own thing because people accept that cats do that and that they deserve the freedom to roam, and there is no harm in it as they are not a danger to anyone as they are both domesticated and small. If you own a tiger, having to let a tiger walk around the streets will cause some serious problems and might scare people. Not only that, but normal cats sometimes annoy owners by dragging a dead frog or mouse into the house... Imagine the look on your houseguests faces when your pet drags in a horse?!


I think the line should be drawn with size. Household pets should preferably be able to fit in the house, as well as being safe enough for you yourself, your family, and people it might encounter outside when you take it for walks.

If the pet is exotic or not a usual pet I’m fine with that, so long as it is tame (ish) and not too huge. If it is carnivorous and of jurassic size then I’d be concerned.

Likewise, if it is just massive in general, but would not eat your children, it is still a no. Anything like an elephant or a hippo or a rhino is just a silly idea. I mean if a pet like this even went to show affection to you with some form of hug-equivalent it'd probably squash you anyway, not to mention if you accidentally turn round with a boiling hot frying pan not knowing Nellie was behind you and burning her trunk causing her to squash you to death in pain as she runs off to cry, or just squashing you because she thinks you tried to kill her and she is very angry at you.

I know no-one has suggested keeping an elephant in the house, I just felt like putting it in.

But I’m all for people having odd pets that aren’t usually used as pets as such, though they can’t be as tame as dogs or cats. Cats and dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years, it’ll be in their nature now to an extent. It’s not necessarily going to be the same for other animals.


In short, if it is big enough to eat you then it probably isn’t a good idea to keep it as a pet.

 

[Bambi]

Imagine a tiger sized Velcro...

I don't really see a problem with wild animals as pets as long as you have the land for it, and youre in like a rural area a fair distance fromother people.... Keeping a tiger or summat in an urban area would just be foolish. I suppose then you'd practically just have a small zoo... but unless you have loads of land thats secured by the biggest fence EVER and the means to feed it lots of shit, then I wouldn't have much of a problem with the idea I suppose

And maybe you should be an ex zoo keeper or some shit so you know what to expect having a big cat as a pet...

 

[Dee]

The one thing I have to say to anyone keeping a wild animal as a pet is: REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE A WILD ANIMAL. Even if they grew up in a home, domesticated with humans and or other animals, they are still ANIMALS. That is the one most important piece of information I could say.

Even if the animal is domesticated, you absolutely cannot expect the animal, domestic or wild, to conform to the way that humans function and live their lives; especially the latter. They may love you, they may be loyal in most instances, they may be able to be taught tricks, but there is still that instinct that cannot be underestimated.

Also, as long as you have the room they need to get adequate exercise, I think it's just fine. If you can provide a good life for that animal and understand that it is wild and respect that, then by all means.

 

[Ayumi Hamasaki]

When I read this, I thought of that lady who had the gorilla that ripped her friend's face off. She thought it wasn't a wild animal and looked what happened. It's a horribe thing to take an animal that is violent in the wild, and take it out of it's natural enviroment, and bring it home with you. Especially something with a month as large as you are.

I feel the same way about people who do that as I do about people who go to the zoo and climb in with the animals. If they get killed, that's their problem, they decided to do something really stupid that makes no sense at all. They deserve what they get. Of course, if you feel in, it would be another story, but that's not what's happening here.

I think it's a pity that we punish the animal for doing what animals and do, and then feel pity for the idoit who did it in the first place. If you have a lion and it takes your foot off, well that's your own stupid problem.

I feel the same about the more mean dogs. If you it bites your arm off, you shouldn't have it.

Of course dogs were wild once, but they aren't now are they? If I bought one today, then yesterday it wouldn't have been wild, would it have? But a lion would've.

 

[Dee]

'Wild' or not, they don't abide by our laws. They don't understand that biting a human could easily result in their death; especially if you are a certain breed. And yet we humans still enforce these laws on the animals even though it's the humans fault for underestimating the fact that they are, indeed, animals. Generally, they abide by instinct, even if they can be taught silly tricks for yummy treats and belly rubs.

 

[Lirael]

I am strongly opposed to keeping wild animals as pets... Much as I love foxes, I could never take one out of its natural habitat, nor could I bring a cub up in a place that isn't its natural home.

I don't think animals can be truly happy unless they're in their natural setting. Due to their instincts, a part of them will always feel a little frustrated if they're not able to get the stimulation and exercise they need. Animals need to hunt and/or forage, they need to explore freely, they need to interact with other animals.

Wild animals are wild for a reason... They need the space. Very nasty accidents have happened to people who have tried to contain their 'pets.' They make the mistake of thinking that the animal is domesticated and calm, but you just can't prevent an animal from doing what's natural to it... If a tiger uses its claws or a gorilla uses its muscles, then injures a person, it's not the animal's fault... It didn't make the decision consciously.

Saying that you can bring an animal up to be happy outside of its natural habitat makes as much sense to me as the argument that you can raise a happy child in a single room. :/