10 replies to this topic

[Mire ido]

Hey guys, I have to write something for school on any topic and I thought the topic of 'Should animals be kept as pets' was a really interesting one! Could you guys tell me your point of view and reasons? I’m going to give my own experience with Ubi as well as talk about some research I’ve found!  Any ideas would help though!

 

Thanks everyone <3

Edited by mireido, 12 December 2021 - 02:51 AM.

[lil BIG dwarf]

Hi! Nice to see you on HH

I think, in a perfect world, animals would have never been kept as pets unless it was life or death/these animals have the choice to stay with people.

Like, I have a dog and two gerbils. My dog tries to escape a lot, but always comes home cold and wet and hungry/we find him like that. He could not survive alone, because of domestication. If he and the ability to live alone and come and go, I’m sure he’d come sometimes and go other times. I guess that’s a lot of if’s and I thinks, but I wish animals had the choice to interact with humans, and caged animals should have the most natural, Large environments possible. (Sorry this is disorganized, but I think it makes sense kind)

I don’t think it’s cheating! You chose a topic, and your gathering others opinions. Looking at a scientific study is similar, and that’s not cheating. Your learning more and getting others ideas about the subject so you can give the best answer

[Mire ido]

Hi! Nice to see you on HH

I think, in a perfect world, animals would have never been kept as pets unless it was life or death/these animals have the choice to stay with people.

Like, I have a dog and two gerbils. My dog tries to escape a lot, but always comes home cold and wet and hungry/we find him like that. He could not survive alone, because of domestication. If he and the ability to live alone and come and go, I’m sure he’d come sometimes and go other times. I guess that’s a lot of if’s and I thinks, but I wish animals had the choice to interact with humans, and caged animals should have the most natural, Large environments possible. (Sorry this is disorganized, but I think it makes sense kind)

I don’t think it’s cheating! You chose a topic, and your gathering others opinions. Looking at a scientific study is similar, and that’s not cheating. Your learning more and getting others ideas about the subject so you can give the best answer

Hmm, interesting I think I agree.  Very useful as usual LBD!

 

Thanks  that makes sense, it's kinda just like gathering opinions on the topic ig

Edited by mireido, 12 December 2021 - 02:51 AM.

[PeaThePeanut]

I've thought about this before. 

 

I think I agree with LBD, animals probably are not meant to be kept as pets, but over the years we've domesticated them and pretty much handicapped them to the point where they would no longer be able to survive out in the wild on their own.

And honestly, I think for as long as mankind has been around, they have been trying to keep animals as pets. 

 

I think most of the time, the idea of keeping a pet is selfish, at the same time, it's not. Most modern 'pets' are not capable of living on their own in the wild. You cannot and SHOULD NEVER get a pet rabbit and release them into the wild. THEY WILL NOT SURVIVE. It's much better to keep them as your pet, treat them with love and respect and make sure that they live their best life they can while in captivity. 

 

There's also a big difference between "pet" animals and "wild" animals. Pets have been domesticated for many years, whereas wild animals are wild. Made to live in nature and have all the instincts they need to survive. Like, we can have pet hamsters of course, but we could never have a wild hamster as a pet. 

 

I think it's cruel that some people think that no animal should be a pet. Well, because of years of domestication, without humans, these animals would never survive. So it's a bit of a necessary thing that people keep pets to keep these species and these breeds of animals alive.

 

I hope that didn't come off as too passionate. XD I get really strong feelings about certain things and sometimes I can be a lot more passionate than the situation calls for. LOL.

[Mire ido]

 

Thanks PeaThePeanut! What you've said really makes sense and I'll definitely be using this argument!

[Kikya]

I think having pets is mutually beneficial to the pet and the owner as long as the owner takes his animal husbandry responsibilities seriously.

 

Most animals that we think of as domesticated all become domesticated because of a mutually beneficial relationship.

 

Dogs got the scraps from human and shelter. Cats killed mice and protected our food supplies and got full bellies of milk and mice. Even livestock that we eat, they get a long safe life free from stress and even at the end of their lives, a swift death that isn't full of disease or being eaten alive by another animal. (in a perfect world of course)

 

I think it's perfectly fine to own animals as long as they are being treated with respect and care. Even our hamsters would have very short lives in the wild. I seriously doubt too many died from old age in the warmth of their own bed.

 

I'm not saying it's wrong either way but I don't think animals are harmed by being owned by humans, in fact I think most of them benefit or they wouldn't have bothered to follow us home.

[ChloesCritters]

I'm 50/50 about this.

 

MOST  animals would pick a nice caring home than getting chased  by i don't know a fox though  some really exotic animals just...are better of wild. 

 

i dont have any points...

[Lightning~]

   by i don't know a fox though  some really exotic animals just...are better of wild. 

 

 

You should check out SAVEAFOX on youtube.

all/most of her foxes are rescued, whether that's from the wild or someones home.

I've hear of some fox/raccoon/skunk/squirrel/mink breeders.

 

OP: I think that if you did not get your animal from the wild, and you can have care up to standards most of the time, it's ok to keep one as a pet.

[BleghBun]

 I assume you're talking about exotic animals?? Like foxes, raccoons, and such

 

Part of me wants to say "eeehhh", exotic animals need their natural environment to pursue their natural behaviors, sure, it would cool to have one, but not really a good idea.

 

The other side of me is saying yes, but only if the animal cannot survive being released back into the wild because of any injury or has already been domesticated

[Robin~]

Like what others have said I think a lot falls on the species/type of animal and the husbandry.

I think there are some animals that really shouldn’t be kept as “pets” for a variety of reasons. For example, most monkeys make for very bad pets due to their high enrichment needs, and most are wild-caught, which is a very unethical business in most cases, plus you’re bound to end up with a sick and/or unadjusted pet. There are some people who can pull it off but for 99.9% of people it’s just not achievable simply due to them having a job/social life/other hobbies/not nearly enough money. For other pets like dogs or hamsters, yes, I’d say most people can handle them. I know a lot depends on the species/breed, which is where research and good husbandry comes into play, but for most people* you will not need to spend years getting the animal adjusted to human contact or tens of thousands of dollars just for basic needs.

* There are some pets (especially special needs pets or ones adopted from rough situations) that do need this. All I’m saying is it’s not the majority like it would be for most wild-caught animals.

And, like everyone else said, good husbandry is really going to be a bottom line in all of this. If you can benefit an animal’s life by providing them food, shelter, enrichment, affection, health care, etc that would be better than what they’d get out in the wild then that’s a plus to me. For some animals, they’re better off out in the wild because we can’t provide for them as easily.

(And of course, some wild animals can’t be returned for a variety of reasons. In these cases, though, this should be left to a professional wildlife rehabilitator, not your average pet owner.)

Edited by Robin~, 13 December 2021 - 04:50 AM.

[Mire ido]

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this topic! All of your answers have been very helpful for my work. Thanks again!