Wild as Pets?

Back then in primary school, we were taught about animals and the types we have - domestic and wild animals. The domestic animals are ones kept at home, and most of them can be pets, while the wild ones should be left in the wild because they are dangerous animals. Examples of wild animals include lions, elephants, snakes, and tigers, among others.

There is a reason why these animals are kept in the zoo and some in the wild, very far away from humans. Imagine rearing a lion at home, that could be a dangerous play because a time will come, the lion will lose its loyalty and eat you up.

Growing up, and as a young girl, I was told a story of a hunter who went to hunt one day and found a lonely cub and decided to bring it home. The hunter would raise this cub like a pet, feed it animals he hunted.

The villagers had warned him to take the cub back into the wild, but he refused and relied on his sheer power to care for it. He had thought that once the cub grows up to become a lion, it would recognise him and not do anything.

After many years, the cub grew up to become a strong lion and was always caged. But, one day, the hunter went on a journey, leaving his pregnant wife and two kids at home. For three days, the lion didn’t eat and became hungry.

Aggressively, it loses itself, attacks the whole family and kills them. The hunter returned home happily but on getting home, he met blood and bones on the ground. He regretted his actions.

For me, I can never keep wild animals as pets; in fact, I am still afraid of some domestic animals. The reason for this is that these animals need to be trained to unleash their nature and be what they are called to do. Taking them as pets won’t allow them exhibit their strength.

Keeping such animals as pets without the necessary protection could become dangerous. For instance, some people cannot meet the complex requirements; behavioural, social, nutritional and psychological needs of wild animals, and this could lead to suffering, stress and poor health.

Another thing is that keeping wild animals as pets could be risky to humans. Even those raised in captivity retain their natural instincts. These animals can be unpredictable, aggressive and dangerous, which could pose severe injury to the owners just like the story above. They need to be taken away from the public for safety reasons.

Some people underestimate the financial burden of taking care of these wild animals, and when they can’t commit to such lifelong care, the animals are left abandoned, uncared for, euthanised, and doomed to live in such poor conditions.

These animals need to be left to exhibit their natural instincts and survival skills, where they can have enough space and energy, rather than being enclosed in a limited space.

We can’t keep wild animals as pets because they are dangerous and can attack us later. These animals are predators that prey on other animals for survival and once they can’t find them around, they can eat us.

Also, if these animals aren’t trained, they can tear you apart forgetting you are their owner. Just like I said above, they need certain requirements like a free area to walk, strategies, and to use their skills to catch prey. So, keeping them as pets equals depriving them of these skills.

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_{Images Credit to Meta AI}