Keeping Things Wild

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Having wild animals as pets seems like a cute thing to do. People usually keep them at home because of their love for animals; however, this is doing more harm than good. Domestication of animals takes thousands of years to accomplish. Common house pets such as cats and dogs took a long way to being the household pets they are today. However, this is not the same case as other species of animals.

Snakes, parrots, iguanas, and even big cats such as lions and tigers, are not domesticated. These animals did not evolve to become pets. They belong to the wilderness and keeping them within the four walls of your house would just make them feel alienated.

Wild animals thrive in their natural habitat. Big cats such as cheetahs, being the fastest animal in the world, need to be in a place where they can hunt and run for miles instead of being stuck inside your living room. Wild birds such as eagles are large in size and have wide wingspans. They need to be out-and-open, instead of being kept in a cage.

A lot of these wild animals also survive in groups, in flocks, or in herds. These animals need to be in an environment where they can freely do what is innate to them such as hunting, flying, and mating. A lot of their needs simply cannot be met inside our households as this puts their physical and mental health at stake.

The way these animals are captured are also alarming. According to the World Animal Protection, these animals are acquired through exotic pet trade. They are either poached from the wild or bred in captivity on a farm and are then shipped to long distances. Sadly, four out of five animals that are caught in illegal wildlife trade die while in transit or within a year of captivity.

The cruelty that wild animals experience is not just limited within people’s households. We can also see this kind of cruelty in zoos and oceanariums. Zoos can attempt to recreate how the jungle looks by putting plants around the vicinity but it can never provide wild terrestrial animals enough space to roam around. Oceanariums can install huge aquariums and decorate it with rocks and corals but it can never be as vast as the ocean. In these places, animals are being kept in artificial environments for people’s amusement. Capitalists take these animals out of their natural habitats just to be monetized.

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The issue of taking wild animals out of their natural habitat has made me wonder why some people would really take the time and effort to have them as pets. Maintaining these types of animals costs a fortune. They are also hard to tame or to train. All these seem to be reasons why people should stick to domesticated animals as pets but then, I realized that in the digital era where technology and the internet have taken coverage and power, there could be one major contributor to the displacement of wild animals and that is, pop culture.

People’s interest in owning wild animals as pets could be rooted in pop culture, which was amplified by social media. We often see wild animals, such as snakes and tigers, being featured in music videos for aesthetic purposes. Fashion models and social media influencers love to upload photos of them with exotic animals that would later on make it trendy. Some people love to brag about owning an exotic animal because apparently, the internet finds it cool and unique that their pet is not a goldfish, but say, a crocodile. Keeping exotic animals has been romanticized to the point that people overlook how detrimental this could be to these animals.

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Another thing that worries me about keeping wild animals is when owners can no longer sustain them. There will come a time wherein these wild animals will grow to their full size or will start to show wild behavioral tendencies. Owners will start to feel unsafe around their animals. A python can grow big enough to swallow a toddler. A lion can grow so big that you can no longer play with it because their bites are no longer playful. Owners’ initial action to this is most likely to release the animals back to the wild. However, that action is like sending a toddler to college. These animals have stayed in a domestic environment for a long time. Releasing them to the wild would put them in danger because they have not acquired the necessary survival skills and instincts needed to survive in that environment.

I, too, am a pet owner and I am very much fond of animals. However, I don't think that “fondness” or “love” for animals can only be shown through keeping wild animals as pets. It is selfish for us to take an innocent animal out of its home just so we can play with it inside ours. We have to think of the wellbeing of the animals that we are planning to adopt. We need to consider if this animal can survive in a domestic environment. We have to think if we can afford keeping them as pets. And essentially, we have to make sure that we can provide not just a loving, but a sustainable environment for them.

Pet ownership should be beneficial to both the owner and the pet. Keeping wild animals as pets could feel gratifying for the owners but displeasing for the animals. We should not take away their freedom just because we want them as our companions. Their home is in the wild. They deserve to be kept untouched and be free in their most natural environment.