Bailey Ruemler

Victoria Brandenburg

ENG101 Class #26030

October 9, 2020

Keeping Exotic Animals as Pets

More than 6,000 assorted exotic animals died from illness or injury after a PETA raid in

Arlington, Texas (“Inside the Exotic Pet Trade”). A crate of 400 Iguanas was found dead

from lack of food and water due to the fact that an order had been canceled (“Inside the

Exotic Pet Trade”). These horrible deaths could have been avoided if the demand was not so

high. Apparently exotic pets are very popular in the U.S. “According to U.S. pet

ownership statistics from 2017-2018, over 18 million U.S. households owned some form of

exotic or specialty pet, totaling just shy of 90 million individual animals” (Calder). The

benefits of owning an exotic pet are dwarfed in comparison to the suffering and torture these

animals are put through. The problems of keeping exotic pets go beyond just the animal’s

welfare, it also endangers the people who transport and buy them. The effects of owning

exotic animals could result in the animals escaping and disturbing the ecosystem, the animals

having a lower quality of life, and the owners being injured by the animal.

The ecosystem is a delicate balance and when it is disturbed it can cause many problems

which are nearly impossible to fix. Oftentimes the way this begins is the owners of the

animals do not want them anymore or the animals manage to escape. When this happens, it

can cause an outbreak of an unwanted species in an area it is not indigenous to. There are

many reported instances of invasive species being introduce through the exotic pet trade. One

such instance is in Florida where the Burmese python and red lionfish, both aggressive
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species, have been introduced (Ownership of Exotic Animals”). While the lionfish could

threaten the coral reefs, the pythons have invaded the Everglades (“Ownership of Exotic

Animals”). Additionally, “… Burmese pythons kept as pets have escaped and been released

into the Everglades, where they have since flourished in the wild and threaten endangered

birds and native snakes” (“Inside the Exotic Pet Trade”). These two species could cause a

severe ecological crisis by overpopulating. Moreover, when species that are not native to a

particular area or continent are released, it could be more harmful to the animal, but if it

thrives, it may very seriously harm the species currently living in that area. While not all

released animals will survive “Those who do survive may overpopulate and wreak havoc on

the ecosystem, killing native species (“Inside the Exotic Pet Trade”). This is not only causing

an outbreak of these unwanted animals; it is also harming the indigenous creatures.

Additionally, people have been warned about the possibilities of outbreaks and the harm of

native species, but the exotic pet trade is determined to keep selling these invasive species.

The dangers of introducing aggressive species into environments that are not their own has

been warned against by conservationists, due to their tendency to endanger the ecosystem

(“Ownership of Exotic Animals”).To further prove the pet trade’s hand in these issues

“Krysko et al. (2011) showed that, of the 140 non‐native reptiles and amphibians that have

been introduced into Florida, nearly 85% arrived via the pet trade. Rosa et al. (2017)

determined that 70% of invasions by mammal species in Brazil over the past 30 years were

also due to the pet trade” (Lockwood, et al). These ecological disasters have been brought

about, not by ignorance, but by blatant disregard for the animal and the ecosystem. The

release of aggressive species into foreign environments majorly effects the balance of the

ecosystem.
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Animals that are born in wild will always have a lower quality of life anywhere else.

Quite often, someone will buy an exotic pet simply because of the way it looks without

having any knowledge of essential care. Many people are oblivious to the care their new pet

needs “Animals… are often subject to inadequate care. Because caretakers are often

unprepared or unable to provide for the needs of animals who are so far removed from their

natural habitats, many exotic animals will likely die or be abandoned by their caretakers”

(“Inside the Exotic Animal Trade”). This is a shocking fact which goes to show how little

thought goes into most of these purchases. Furthermore, the act of taking an animal from its

natural environment to live in a cage can be viewed as less than humane. Various animals are

kept in many horrible conditions as they are transported from person to person (“Inside the

Exotic Animal Trade”). They are taped to people’s bodies or strapped down and have no

access to food or water just days after being brutally ripped from their homes (“Inside the

Exotic Animal Trade”). The mortality rate of these animals according to a German customs

agent is around 80 to 90 percent (“Inside the Exotic Animal Trade”). Distributing animals

like this and taking them from their homes is devastating. It is cruel and inhumane to force a

wild animal to be a pet. Also, considering the conditions these animals are transported and

kept in, it is no surprise that they often fall ill or end up injured. Quite often exotic animals

become mentally or physically injured while being kept in captivity “For instance, the head

of South Africa’s Western Cape Environmental Crime Investigation unit estimates that 90

percent of exported reptiles die within a year.8 Hedgehogs, who roll themselves into tight

balls, can easily become injured if children try to “uncurl” them or if cats attack them. Sugar

gliders are very social animals, and if they are not given enough attention, they may mutilate

themselves or die from the stress of loneliness” (“Inside the Exotic Animal Trade”). These
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animals do not deserve this kind of life and it is cruel to take them away from the life they

could have had. Animals born in the wild are meant to stay there and when you mess with

nature, the result is often quite ugly.

The animals are not the only ones at risk when owning an exotic pet, they can cause

serious injury to the owner as well. Interacting with a large exotic pet will not be quite the

same as with a dog and could lead to serious injuries. Some exotic pets can become quite

large and deadly “A 600-pound tiger will do what it wants, when it wants to,” says Tippi

Hedren, a former actor who now runs a big-cat sanctuary in California. “You buy this cute

creature at 8 weeks old. After six months, it’s torn your house apart and taken a good chunk

out of you” (“Inside the exotic Pet Trade”). Some owners have reverted to abusive methods

of preventing attack by their animals such as caging, beating, and removing claws and teeth

(“Ownership of Exotic Animals”) These methods are cruel and do not guarantee safety.

Keeping a wild animal as large as a tiger is always a risk and more often than not will cause a

lot of trouble for the owner. Second, keeping a large, dangerous wild animal will not only

endanger the owner, but also the owner’s family or friends. According to PETA’s article

“Inside the Exotic Animal Trade, “There have been dozens of captive big-cat attacks in

recent years, including incidents in which a tiger mauled his guardian’s 3-year-old grandson,

a lion killed several dogs and trapped a boy in his room, and a Bengal tiger tore off the arm

of a 4-year-old boy.” In addition to physical danger these animals can present, several of

them carry diseases (“Ownership of Exotic Animals”). Reptiles carry salmonella and

macaque monkeys can carry herpes B virus (“Ownership of Exotic Animals”). Both of these

can lead to death in severe cases (“Ownership of Exotic Animals”). The intrigue and

obsession of keeping large wild animals should be no excuse for putting family or friends in
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danger. Furthermore, wild animals will never be domesticated and therefore present a

constant threat to the owner and the surrounding people. Some have even tried to domesticate

a wild species, but with little success “Wolf hybrids have also increased in popularity—it’s

estimated that hundreds of thousands of them live in homes across the country—and since

1982 at least 85 people have been hurt and 19 killed by these offspring of wolves and

domesticated dogs.32 One veterinarian and animal behaviorist says that “people who breed

these animals and sell them as pets are playing Russian roulette. It’s a gross

misrepresentation to sell these animals as pets” (“Inside the Exotic Animal Trade”). These

are wild animals and will act as such. Forcing them into a home will not domesticate them, it

will only put the owner and their family in danger. Even with the best intentions and most

expensive set up, owning a wild animal will always be a risk to the owner and a danger to

everyone near it.

The ownership of exotic pets has many effects on society, the animal, and on the owner

personally such as endangering the owner and their family, supporting a lower quality of life

for the animal, and risking the environment by keeping an invasive species. Many

ecosystems have been affected by the accidental or intentional release of aggressive and

invasive species, which in turn harmed the native species. Even if the pet owners manage to

keep their pet from escaping, chances are it is not having an optimal quality of life. Many

people do not know how to take care of these animals and therefore the animal suffers for it.

Finally, even if the animal is well taken care of it will always be a danger to the owner and

all that live around them. It could attack the owner, or it could carry a harmful disease. The

exotic pet trade is a bad deal for everyone except the people profiting off of animal cruelty.
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Everyone can do their part by not contributing to the problem by buying wild exotic animals.

Stay informed and make wise choices for the animal’s sake and for the entire ecosystem.
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Works Cited

Calder, Alice. "Joe Exotic and Wet Markets Expose Global Wildlife Trade."

TradeVistas.org, Hinrich Foundation, 16 Apr. 2020, tradevistas.org/

joe-exotic-and-wet-markets-expose-global-wildlife-trade/. Accessed 7 Oct.

2020.

Lockwood, Julie, et al L. "When pets become pests: the role of the exotic pet trade in producing

invasive vertebrate animals." Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, vol. 17, no. 6,

Aug. 2019, pp. 323-30, esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.2059.

Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

Inside the Exotic Animal Trade. PETA, www.peta.org/issues/

animal-companion-issues/animal-companion-factsheets/inside-exotic-animal-trade/.

Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

"Ownership of Exotic Animals." Gale in Context: College, Gale, a Cengage Company, 2020, go-

gale-

com.ezproxy.paradisevalley.edu/ps/retrieve.do?resultListType=RELATED_DOCUMEN

T&searchType=ts&userGroupName=mcc_pv&inPS=true&contentSegment=&prodId=O

VIC&docId=GALE%7CKXPENJ774908754&it=r. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.

PETA, compiler. Inside the Exotic Animal Trade. PETA, www.peta.org/issues/animal-

companion-issues/animal-companion-factsheets/inside-exotic-animal-trade/. Accessed 7

Oct. 2020.
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