Why You Shouldn’t Keep Exotic Animals as Pets

Why you shouldn’t keep exotic animals as pets

4- 6 MINS

Attention Getter:

• How many of you watched the movie Aladdin? I’m sure we’ve all had the fairytale dream of owning a tiger just like jasmine did and have it by our side to “protect” us and to cuddle with, or found the monkey on Aladdin’s shoulder very cute and also wanted one,

Call for Specific Action or Change of Thought: 

• Well, people need to realize we do not live in that fantasy and animals were not made for our own entertainment, they were made to exist for their own reasons and deserve the freedom in the wild
• Born Free USA has documented over 2,000 attacks, incidents and escapes involving exotic pets since 1990.

Preview the 3 Primary Arguments You Will Make (thesis)

• 3 main reasons people should stop owning exotic animals is first the owner himself has a very negative affect on the animal itself, the animal is a danger to its own household despite how friendly it may seem, and last but not least, they are a danger to the community.

• Negative affect the owner has on them

• Danger it has towards the household and owners  

• Danger it has towards community

Argument #1: Negative affect the owner has on them

When a person decides to own a pet, there are many things they have to go over before making the decision, but many believe it is an easy process to go through. Animals deserve full attention and care, and with exotic pets, it’s even harder because they need specific amount of space and a specialized diet. Many owners of exotic animals are negatively affecting the animals mental and physical health without even noticing it. They think treating them like normal pets is enough. PETA org mentioned how these three common animals are usually treated when kept as pets.

• Animal control authorities had to confiscate a crippled cougar cub from a basement in New York, because the teenager that owned him fed him things that did not match his specific diet plan, which resulted to him having deformed legs.
• Hedgehogs roll themselves in balls when scared or tired, and if kids uncurl them, they could get easily injured.
•  Sugar gliders are very social animals, and if they are not given enough attention, they tend to self-harm themselves or die from loneliness and stress.

Not only does lack of attention and a proper diet plan lead to the death or depression of the animal, it also leads to the animal becoming violent and aggressive, and that’s where we move on to the danger it has towards the household and its owners.

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/exotic-animals-pets/

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/reasons-exotic-animals-do-not-belong-in-our-backyards/

Argument#2: Danger it has towards the household and owners  

We’ve all heard stories about animals attacking humans and causing major injuries. My own family member owned a baby cheetah a couple of years ago. We all thought it was adorable and friendly at first, until it grew up, and attacked my younger cousin, and caused a severe injury.