Expert: Jonathan Wright - 1/9/2006

Question
Our family is about to enter a debate regarding the keeping of
exotic pets.  We are firmly against it and would like help with as
much background information as possible so we may not only
win the debate but keep others from actually harboring exotic
pets.
thank you.

Answer
Dear Wendy

Thanks for your question and for your concern about people keeping exotic animals as pets.

I shall incorporate some information from earlier questions, as I have been asked for information on how to keep various exotic animals, including raccoons, lions and ocelots. I know people who keep and breed exotic animals in suitable environments, so I can't back your assertion that nobody should keep exotic pets, although I agree that people shouldn't buy pets on a whim, especially if they don't have suitable accommodation, food etc. It is important to find out about the animal before obtaining it. London Zoo used to take in various exotic pets, but as zoos are now tending to keep groups of animals and fewer species, the idea of giving an unwanted pet to a local zoo may not be acceptable. Ultimately, the owner is responsible for the pet and should not keep a pet in unsuitable conditions. I have heard various horror stories about exotic pets attacking members of the family and visitors (not a good way to make friends) and of people keeping alligators, tigers and other large animals in small flats. This kind of treatment is cruel and cannot be condoned.
 
It is important to understand that people have kept animals for thousands of years. Domesticated animals have been bred from wild animals and are kept for food, milk, fur and plumage as well as for pets. Some exotic animals are fairly easy to keep. Some popular pets, such as chinchillas and chipmunks, are still fairly exotic animals, while degus (South American rodents) are now becoming quite popular as pets. As long as the people know how to look after the animals and can keep them well, I don't think I have too much of a problem with these animals being kept as pets (my mother keeps chipmunks).

Some people can keep wild animals to help replenish wild populations. Some zoos provide spiders and other invertebrates to appropriate private individuals, as spiders may produce many young, which could eat their siblings if kept together. If people keep individual spiders in separate containers, more spiders can survive to adulthood, increasing the number of individuals of some endangered species.

The website http://exoticpets.about.com/ has information about exotic pets, while http://www.wildlifecare.org and  http://www.orphanedwildlifecare.com/ have information about keeping wildlife.  

Some exotic animals, such as raccoons and wild cats can do a lot of damage to property, including electric cables. They can be aggressive, especially if they feel that their young are under threat. Some animals need a lot of care and attention, as well as supervision. The owner also needs to find a veterinarian who will treat exotic animals. This may be difficult and could be prohibitive. I think a lot of people don't know how expensive some pets can be, as regards housing, food and veterinary fees. For example, a lizard may not cost much, but the heating equipment and enclosure can cost a lot of money and many people may feel squeamish about killing animals for food. Before obtaining a pet, you must ensure that you can supply it with the correct living conditions (is the enclosure big enough for the animal and will it be big enough when the animal grows larger?), lighting conditions (have you got the correct lighting, so that the animal is active when you are?), heat and social requirements (does it live alone or in a group?). Providing good conditions for a reptile can be very expensive – often several times the cost of buying the reptile. Can you afford to buy the correct facilities for your pet? Can you spare the time to clean the enclosures, when they need cleaning, and providing fresh material? Is the enclosure secure? Can your pet escape and hide, perhaps dying in your home? Can another animal, such as a cat, get into the enclosure to kill the pet? Birds may injure themselves on the glass or metal of an enclosure. Several zoos put silhouettes of birds of prey on the glass, so that birds avoid the glass and do not fly into it.

A pet can take up a lot of time and money. Many children have a great desire to keep various animals as pets, but, once they obtain the pets, the children quickly lose interest and the parents end up doing all the work (e.g. cleaning), while the children occasionally feed the pets.   

The KidsHealth Website (http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/home/pets website advises people not to keep wild animals as pets and says that children should never touch, feed or try to take animals home with them. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1790202.stm concerns tightening up legislation for keeping dangerous wild animals as pets. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1028061.stm concerns the suffering of wild animals kept as pets.

http://www.exn.ca/poll/poll.asp?pollID=244 contains a poll about keeping exotic animals as pets.

Wild animals may not be used to being around people and may carry diseases, such as tularaemia or rabies. Budgerigars and other parrots may spread psittacosis and other diseases to their owners. Reptiles transmit salmonella, because they have bacteria all over their skins. Pet keepers must ensure that a local vet can provide medical care at an affordable price. Many zoos do not have the time, or inclination, to provide free medical care.

Some animals can catch diseases from people. For example, monkeys may catch measles and die. Animals may also suffer from stress after being handled or being prodded. Taking a wild animal from the wild is cruel and irresponsible. An adult animal may be difficult, or impossible, to tame, while a young animal may not have become independent of its parents. For example, a young rabbit needs a special kind of milk, which is supplied by its mother, and may die if it is fed on whole cows' milk, while shrews need to feed every few hours and may die if they go without food for a few hours.  

Exotic animals can be susceptible to various diseases, some of which may be passed on to people. Therefore, it is important to know if the animal can be vaccinated and whether it is suffering from a contagious disease before purchasing it. If there is an epidemic of animal disease, there may be a request for the animal to be destroyed. This is happening at the moment due to people being worried about the threat of bird flu.

Exotic animals may carry parasites and may need to be operated on to remove the parasites. Once again, this can be expensive. Children may pick up the parasite or its eggs and can become ill because of this. The exotic pets may escape and can become pests. There are several cases of exotic pets escaping into the wild. Many of the stories of big cats in Britain are said to relate to pets being released when a change in the law stated that people required licences to keep dangerous animals. Escaped exotic animals can destroy the local wildlife or damage the environment. They may also spread disease to people and domestic animals.

http://www.pets.ca/forum/archive/index.php/t-1546.html details problems concerned with the exotic pet trade, while http://www.pleasebekind.com/adopt.html gives information about adopting animals. Some exotic animals are obtained from the wild, usually by killing the mother to obtain a baby. I was watching a programme about orang-utans on Tuesday and it stated that a few orang-utans die for every wild orang-utan that reaches a zoo or pet shop. I have also heard about hundreds of live tortoises being packed into boxes, with only a few surviving long flights. Similarly, parrots may be placed in tubes, with many dying before reaching pet shops. This is cruel, as well as reducing the populations of wild animals. This is especially important when endangered animals are involved, as this can lead to extinction. Some people are especially keen on obtaining critically endangered animals as pets. A few years ago, there were only a few Spix's macaws kept in captivity, with only one or two individuals in the wild. Instead of people wanting to pool their birds in the hope that the population could increase, many seemed to want to hold on to individuals, so that, if others died, their macaw would become more valuable.

It is also important to consider any regulations about keeping exotic animals as pets. It may be illegal to keep a species in one country or state and not in another. If it is illegal to keep a species where you live, the animal may be confiscated and possibly destroyed, while the owner may be prosecuted.
http://www.api4animals.org/375.htm includes regulations for various exotic animals in the USA.

Another thing to be taken into consideration is the social behaviour of the exotic animal. It is cruel to keep a social animal by itself. It should be kept with other members of its species, otherwise it may consider its owner to belong to the same species as itself and may not react appropriately if it met a potential mate. Similarly, some species spend most of their life by themselves and only interact with other members of the species at mating time or when confronting another animal, perhaps at the boundary of two territories. Great care must be taken when introducing potential mates, as they can become aggressive. This has happened, for example, with giant pandas at zoos, where many zoos have had little, or no, success in breeding these endangered animals. Keeping animals in inadequate social environments can lead to many behavioural problems, such as stress - which may include animals pulling their hair or feathers out or chewing off their tails. Many solitary species have breeding seasons, when their behaviour can change quite radically. A male deer can become very dangerous during the rut, even though he may be fairly docile during the rest of the year. Can you provide access to a mate for your pet? If not, the pet may try to mate with you or your friends, which can be embarrassing. Can you provide suitable homes for the young, or are there suitable places where they can be released, without affecting the local wildlife or being particularly vulnerable to predation?

I hope this has helped you develop your argument about exotic animals as pets. I agree that most people probably shouldn't keep exotic animals as pets and they definitely shouldn't obtain a pet before knowing about how they are going to keep it and how must they will need to spend on equipment, food etc. They also need to know about how much time they will need to look after the animal and whether they have appropriate people who can look after the animal if it is ill. I don't think many people consider all the elements required to keep a pet in good condition.

As I know a few people who keep exotic pets and have met people who have looked after various zoo animals (including a lion, in one case, and a koala, in another), I cannot agree with your assertion that nobody should keep exotic pets. If it were not for comepetent and considerate pet owners, some of these animals would have died. I don't know if you include animal sanctuaries in your question, but I read about a man who looked after endangered birds in Mauritius. The numbers of individuals of Mauritius kestrels and echo parakeets fell to under 10 in each case. Various conservation organisations considered that the numbers were too low to save the species, which would be susceptible to inbreeding, anyway. The man ignored the advice and saved both species from extinction. While you may not consider these birds to be exotic pets, there are people who keep and breed exotic pets and have helped save these animals from extinction. This does not condone people who keep exotic animals as status symbols in poor conditions. I do not agree with this practice and agree with you that the animals should not be kept with unsuitable owners.

I wish your family all the best. Please contact me if you want any additional information.

Jonathan