Persuasive Essay On Exotic Animals

The childhood dream of owning a pet monkey or tiger is a common one, but that’s all that owning an exotic animal should be: a dream. Over 10,000 exotic animals are trafficked into the United States each year, a multi-million-dollar industry on the black market. Owning a wild animal may seem fun and exciting, but with the ownership of such a creature, dangerous consequences follow. The ownership of an exotic animal not only puts the owner 's life at risk, but the animal 's and the environments. There is a common theme among people that it 's humanity 's responsibility to preserve the world we live in, yet there are more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild. Despite the consequences of owning a wild animal, many people disregard the

Maintaining an environment suitable for an animal from a different ecosystem is extremely time consuming and expensive. Modern day homes are not equipped with backyard jungles for Bengal tigers, or large amounts of spaces with objects for chimpanzees to climb on. It is nearly impossible for exotic pet owners to imitate the natural homes of these animals, which is what they require to ensure the animal lives a comfortable life. What most fail to realize is that these animals will not be able to adapt from a South American jungle, or African plain to a caged in backyard with a completely foreign ecosystem and lifestyle than these animals are meant to belong in. Finding veterinary care for exotic animals is a difficult task, let alone being able to meet the dietary needs of large, carnivorous animals or massive mammals. Rachel Grant, an Animals MPDI editor wrote, "many exotic pets have specialized requirements in captivity that are beyond the scope of many pet keepers to provide" (Grant 6). Although one may believe that keeping, maintaining, and caring for an exotic animal will be like keeping a domesticated animal such as a dog or cat, the reality of the amount of care and expenses these animals require say