Wild Animals as Pets

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Wild Animals as Pets Stephanie Braden Western Governors University English Composition 2 Exotic animals like lions, tigers, and bears have captured the hearts of animal lovers looking for pets that are unusual, but keeping exotic animals as pets can come with a hidden cost. Research suggests that keeping wild animals is not beneficial to either the owner or the animal as it endangers both. Wild animals can get hurt in many ways. One of the ways is by human contact. Wild animals are independent. They have lived millions of years free to live their own life. The wild animals have their own needs and behaviors that belong in the wild. The wild animals have their own way of life. They know how to take care of themselves in order to live. They are not well adapted to living as a pet. Wild animals are lions, tigers, bears, elephants, just to name a few. Most people who buy exotic animals have no idea what they're getting into. Eventually, the owner may realize it is impossible to meet the animal's needs, and come to understand the inherent cruelty of keeping the animal captive. The suffering of wild animals is started by just capturing the wild animal. (Laufer, 2011) When it comes to captivity, animals pay the ultimate price. (Slater, 2014) The parrots beaks and feet are usually taped, and then they are stuffed into suitcases so the airports don't confiscate the animal. Socks are stuffed with baby turtles that are taped inside their shells before being put into suitcases. Baby pythons are stuffed into c.d. cases before put into suitcases. Many of the African or Australian wild animals, who survives the trip, go to the black market to be sold as pets. The number of wild animals that don't make it to the manmade homes as pets is 20:1. (Kahn & Hasbach, 2013) The black market of wild exotic animals as pets is worth billions of
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