Keeping wild and exotic animals as pets threatens public health and safety as well as animal welfare. Wild animals can attack, they can spread disease, and the average pet owner cannot provide the care they need in captivity. Humane,Society. Dangerous Exotic Animals. 24 May 2013. Document. 15 May 2014.
The first reason why people should not have exotic animals is they attack. “Many people can become injured; keeping exotic animals as pets is dangerous. Many can bite, scratch, and attack their owner, children or friends of the family. There have been many reported attacks about chimpanzees attacking the owner or a guest such as Carla Nash was attacked by a chimpanzee and lost both of her eyes and will be blind for life. She also lost much of her facial tissue and now has difficulty talking and cannot breathe naturally. Both of her hands were mangled beyond repair. Since 1990, more than 230 people— including 70 children—have been injured by attacks from primates in the United States. Some of these attacks have caused permanent disability and disfigurement.”

Another reason why these animals should be illegal is that these animals can spread disease. “Primates can also spread deadly viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections to people. For example, macaque monkeys are popular in the pet trade, but naturally carry the Herpes B virus, which is often fatal to humans.” Snake venom, can especially leave permanent damage to humans and other animals. Snake venom is harmful enough to kill a human if they do not get the cure in time.

My last reasons why the public should not have exotic animals is being held in captivity. “Allowing private possession of exotic animals poses unnecessary and preventable risks to public safety—and to the welfare of the animals themselves. In captivity, big cats suffer immensely from being confined to cages that are magnitudes smaller than the vast distances they typically roam in the wild. A Seattle dentist kept a solitary capuchin monkey in his downtown office for more than 20 years. PJ lived in a barren Plexiglas box mounted on the wall of one of the exam rooms, and at night and on weekends he was put into a cage inside a storage closet.” Exotic animals often times die in captivity, when their owners cannot take care of them.








In conclusion, wild animals can attack, spread diseases, and their owners are not capable of taking care of them. The only places that should own these animals are zoos and cirus’.