Comparing having pet to domestication is a big big big stretch.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Domestication is a process that takes generations and generations of specific breeding. And some animals take to it better than others. Like from what I read, Zebras have proved basically impossible to domesticate compared to horses, despite being very similar animals. Zebras are too high strung and aggressive to feasibly domesticate compared to horses which were domesticated much more easily. And yes, there are people who have had pretty successful friendly relationships with wild animals, but there is a reason that wild animals are not treated the same as domesticated ones. You hear stories of people who had tigers for pets for years, and then one day just something triggers an innate impulse in the tiger, and then it mauls its owner. There was a story about a family who raised a chimpanzee for years until one day he brutally attacked and disfigured a family friend because something set him off.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Most people who have a problem with people keeping exotic pets resent the fact that it's difficult to impossible to provide many animals with the proper husbandry needed to keep them happy and healthy in captivity. Many owners even try, and the animals don't do well as a result. There's also the safety issue if the pet is dangerous. Remember the guy in Ohio some years ago who lost his mind, let all of his big cats loose, and then killed himself? Domestication isn't going to be possible with many animals, even ones that could serve useful purposes (the vast majority don't). The cape buffalo in Africa is a good example. The species would theoretically make good livestock. However, cape buffaloes are so aggressive and dangerous that all attempts to domesticate them have failed.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Joe Exotic has entered the chat

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I hate seeing the trend of people feeding raccoons - it makes them less able to fend for themselves...

by Albina17 2 weeks ago

Its about the safety and wellbeing of the animal, and the safety and well-being of the neighbourhood you are bringing the dangerous animal into. Most people that get an exotic pet don't have the space to keep a tiger for example. They need a large space to roam and that's not something most can safely do, and it's not like you can take it out for a walk like a dog. So you've got an animal living a miserable life. Then there are concerns about how secure that animal is. I personally don't want to live next door to someone with a dangerous animal, do you? it presents a pretty real danger to the community if it gets out. Then you get the Joe Exotic breeding mills where the animals are kept in bad conditions to produce offspring so they can sell it for a high price. Allowing the ownership of these animals incentivises these dirtbags to overbreed the animals and sell them because they fetch a high price. You aren't going to be able to domesticate an animal like a tiger in one generation either. When we domesticated wolves that wasn't done by putting them in cages until they liked us, it came from building a symbiotic relationship. Cats domesticated themselves.

by jordanpaucek 2 weeks ago