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#14453 - 05/06/04 08:07 PM Raising wild animals as Pets
mountainman33 Offline
Member

Registered: 01/29/02
Posts: 412
Loc: Central Maine
O.K. Lets hear it all......the pro's (if there are any) the con's, success stories, and failure stories. Any scientific Data in relation to this topic would be great.
I personally think that raising a wild animal as a household pet is a bad idea, however, I repectfully tolerate the opinions of those that think its no big deal to have a pet raccoon, to each his own as long as you're within the law. Them's my 2 cents on it, anyone else?

...MM... laugh

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#14454 - 05/06/04 10:44 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Hal Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 07/17/00
Posts: 10227
Loc: Blue Creek, Ohio, USA
MM33, you’re a good man starting an new topic like this. Thanks.

From the gut, I say it’s a bad idea to keep wild animals. Fortunately for me, it is illegal in many instances to keep a wild animal without certain permits or paper work. I use that as a fall back position.

But how far do you want this to go? Shouldn’t every kid have a frog or a turtle, or a toad in a box every once in a while? The reptiles and amphibians don’t seem to mind a great deal, but where do you draw the line?

I never let my kids keep any birds or mammals for “pets”. Eli and the neighbor boy caught a fawn one day, when they were about twelve years old, and I made them put it back. It’s illegal, don’t you know.

So, while I dislike seeing wild animals caged as pets, I can help but feel my ancestors looking over my shoulder. Because if folks hadn’t started keeping wild animals for pets 6 or 7 thousand years ago, there would be no “domestic” animals. All the animals would still be wild, and so would we.

I guess times change.

smile -- Hal
_________________________
Endeavor to persevere.

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#14455 - 05/06/04 11:23 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Keith T. Offline
Member

Registered: 09/23/03
Posts: 111
Loc: Oconto Falls, WI
I think this is an interesting topic. I'll give it a shot-

The biggest reason I think raising wild animals is wrong is the fact that you can never truly get the "wild" out of the animal. You can look at circus animals or zoo animals for instance. They have been caged for most if not all of their lives, and yet you hear of instances where a trainer, or performer gets injured when the animal suddenly finds his natural instincts. No matter how long they have been trained, they are never truly "trained".

My second big reason is the fact that a wild animal was never meant to be caged or confined. Thats unfair to an animal that was put on this earth to wander and enjoy their natural habitat, and live out their niche in life. I don't think that we have the right to take that away from an animal, no matter how just we think the reason.

I also feel that taking in a naturally orphaned or injured animal is also wrong. Nature should be able to run its course no matter how cruel it seems.

On the other hand Hal brings up a good point about domestication, but that takes years and years, and still you can look at domestic cats and dogs, and see behaviors similar to lions and wolves.

-Keith

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#14456 - 05/07/04 11:12 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Beaver_spanker Offline
Member

Registered: 08/05/01
Posts: 131
Loc: AR
Uh, just wondering how many of y'all buy fox urine? wink

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#14457 - 05/08/04 01:15 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Ric Offline


Registered: 07/22/00
Posts: 3695
Loc: Wellington,OH=USA
In my way of thinking there are three reasons to keep a wild animal in captivity.1)ecconomic 2)education 3)utilasation of the animals traits.
A child with his frog or a grad student studying the same frog certainly qualify.
Fox or mink kept for fur and urine production get my nod.
A falcon maintained as a hunter is fine
A child after satisifing his/her curiosity aboutwild animals generaly gives up on the idea, dogs are a lot more fun.It is when adults keep wild animals that I have a problem with it.Often poorly housed and inadaquatly fed.The existance of these creatures is not what was ment for them.Serveing nothing but the ego of the captor.Better a swift end too those that would have such a fate

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#14458 - 05/08/04 05:14 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
musher Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 07/22/03
Posts: 2376
Loc: Qc.
It is illegal to keep any wild animal as a pet in Quebec. I don't even think you can keep amphibians (sp?). I do know that you need a license to harvest frogs - as food. Any time I have seen it done (it was legal in my youth) it was always kind of pitiful. Fox/yotes in tiny pens, or coons that got wicked.

I think it is something to avoid. I agree with with Ric wrote but that isn't really "pets."

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#14459 - 05/08/04 07:03 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Hal Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 07/17/00
Posts: 10227
Loc: Blue Creek, Ohio, USA
Pets

I guess I make those kinds of distinctions too. Keeping an animal for urine production, is not keeping it as a pet. Same would go for ranched fur animals. Except for size and coloration, ranch mink, fox, etcetera; are hardly distinguishable from their wild cousins, but they are kept in captivity. (I’ll grant some degree of domestication.)

Here’s the bottom line. Except for their novelty, wild animals don’t make good pets

If you want pet, go get a dog or a cat. We’ve spent thousands of years domesticating these animals to live in close proximity to humans. Ain’t no need in trying to re-invent the wheel.

smile -- Hal
_________________________
Endeavor to persevere.

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#14460 - 05/09/04 04:56 PM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Obejoyful Offline
Member

Registered: 08/21/03
Posts: 173
Loc: Chino Valley, AZ
I couldn't have said it any better Hal. I've kept a coon around to train hounds with but no longer have one.

My addvise is don't do it. Even if the wild animal pet does get along with all members of the household, which is rare, they can be very territoial and attack strangers to the home. It's just a BIG lawsuit waiting to happen.

Even keeping the animal caged some dork is bound to stick his finger in the cage and pull out a stump. eek

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#14461 - 05/10/04 04:18 AM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
The Beav Offline
Member

Registered: 07/30/00
Posts: 509
Loc: Oregon WI
We had a deoderized skunk and It was better pet then a cat.Although it was a little ornery during the winter. But we then gave It a outside den so It could do It's thing In the winter and the problem was solved.

But my advise would be to leave wild animals wild.

Beav

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#14462 - 05/27/04 05:28 AM Re: Raising wild animals as Pets
Otterwater0566 Offline
Member

Registered: 02/01/04
Posts: 440
Loc: Austin, AR
My brother and I caught a bunch of baby skunks when we were young. They didn't make good pets! My baby coons were fine for awhile, then they went nuts, bit me and ran off...not good pets either...The goldfish haven't been too bad, but they have been looking at me kind of funny lately!

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