Why Do Pet Owners Say We Should Leave Wild Animals In The Wild?

Question

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't ALL animals wild at one point? So what is so wrong with domesticating another one? If they think wild animals belong in the wild, why do they have pets, which, I might add, were WILD ANIMALS?

Answer 1

I think that depends on who you ask...

Some pet owners actually believe that we shouldn't keep ANY animals as pets! They own pets themselves because they rescue animals already in the system. However, they would prefer not to breed until eventually there were no more pets.

Others have no problem with animals that are already domesticated. Domestication takes a huge amount of time / huge number of generations of selective breeding. The animals that we generally keep as pets (dogs, cats etc) are already domesticated. There is no point worrying about whether they should have been domesticated in the first place, because its a bit late now! But you can be fine with keeping domestic animals but against trying to domesticate new ones. Domestication can be very stressful for the first few hundred generations who can not thrive in captivity. I personally would question if it is really fair to cause huge amounts of suffering to generations of "wild" animals - just so we can have a new type of pet?

Add to this - we can't even look after the pets we already have!

Despite domestication, many animals still suffer from being kept in unsuitable conditions. Most pet species are overpopulated so are destroyed in huge numbers every year. Experts are still debating things like appropriate diet for animals like dogs - how can we ensure we do it right for a new species?

Answer 2

It took humans thousands of years to domesticate the modern dogs and cats, and horses. Imagine trying to do this with a crocodile! Enough people were interested in horses and dogs that they trained them for work and cats were used for killing mice and other vermin. What good is a snake or wombat or such other wild creature in the home? It is best to leave these creatures in their proper habitat:the wild.It is better to appreciate them from afar.  

Answer 3

Yes everything was wild at one point but domesticating another animal but take generations and many many people would get hurt thats why some people want to keep wild animals wild but some people like danger and they feel that domesticating an animal is easy and that all animals have no instincts to hurt people but they do.  

Answer 4

Domesticated animals were wild at one point BUT through years of breeding they became domesticated. So to answer your question: No, wild animals cannot be fully domesticated

Answer 5

The word "domestic" implies a situation some people do not understand. You cannot domesticate an animal you find in the wild by bringing it home to live with you. It is possible to raise some species of young animals to be unafraid of people, but this is not domesticating wild animals, it is robbing them of a critical survival trait: fear--of humans and other predators.

Humans have bred dogs, cats, cattle, sheep, and other livestock for as long as the last 10,000 to 15,000 years. These animals are carefully bred for specific traits of behavior and appearance to make cohabitation with humans easier. This breeding has removed them considerably from their wild cousins. For example, compare dog and wolf cousins. The typical adult dog behaves, and in some respects looks like a wild wolf's pups.

Dogs are more dependent on and submissive to their human masters just as wolf pups are to their adult wolf caretakers. Physically, dogs have smaller brains and eyes, and many breeds have flopped-over ears that reduce sensory input. A young wolf pup looks much like this. These "bred-for" attributes of our pet dogs require them to turn to us for their protection and daily needs.

Wolf pups, on the other hand, may begin life nearly indistinguishable from dog pups, but they don't remain so. As wild animals grow and reach maturity they may challenge their human caretakers for dominant social positions, challenge other family members, neighbors, delivery persons, friends, and especially children. Wild animals may become unpredictable, aggressive, hurt someone, or mark their territory, whether or not it is your carpet or furniture. Because wolf pets and wolf-dog hybrid pets are unpredictable, humane societies find them to be a liability and will not accept these animals for adoption or placement. The dog/wolf comparison is just one example of how pets differ from their wild ancestors.

Answer 6

because we havent domesticated animals in a long time

we are trying to preserve the wildlife as it is

and the animals that were domesitcated were made that way for reasons

not for pleasure

Answer 7

today, domesticated animals were bred (either intentionally, or accidentally) for human companionship. Something from the wild is not here for our entertainment purposes. They could carry diseases, and are not always very tame. that is why the belong in the wild

and you answered your own question our animals today were at one time wild animals but thru decades and centuries of breeding became domesticated. what kind of question is this??

Answer 8

If animals were born in the wild it would be hard for them to adapt to not having to hunt for their food. Animals in pet shops are born domestically even if there ancestors weren't.

Answer 9

All animals were wild at one point, yes. Some were domesticated, like dogs, cats, ferrets...even rats.

A lot of pet owners, like me for example, think that wild animals like bears, coyotes, wolves, and cheetahs should not be domesticated. The reason I think this is because if every wild animal was to be domesticated, the world would sort of...well, not be the "earth" anymore. We probably wouldn't be able to survive because the domesticated, once wild, animals would develope new habits and give up old habits. Food chains would become destroyed, and the earth wouldn't be itself anymore.

I think that answers the question. I wasn't exactly sure what you meant. =]

Answer 10

Depends on the animal, I have had pet squirrels, raccoons, bats, snakes, crows etc.. You have to get them young to domesticate them, not possible with all wild animals and usually illegal. Stay away from larger animals too dangerous.  

Answer 11

Okay, the thing is that the wild animals now are an important part of the "circle of life" in that habitat. It you would take a lion out of its habitat, guess what? The whole entire ecosystem would be out of balance! Lion's prey would start running around, and there would be an overpopulation of them. Then, there wouldn't be enough for the prey to eat, therefore they would starve. And then from there it is like a domino effect.

The animals now that are domesticated were animals back then were not used for what they are now. Cats and dogs back then were mainly used to get rid of mice and other pests. Dogs were first domesticated around13,000 BC. Cats were used in Ancient Egypt to kill mice in the pyramids.

So, yes, those animals were wild before, but they served a purpose. Now if we need to kill pests, we call the exterminator. If we wanted to domesticate, say, a lion, well, that would be a little bit chaotic.

Answer 12

The dogs we own today were never wild. There was never a little Yorkie running around killing things. All dogs come from wolves that were friendly to humans, who took their offspring and bred the traits the wanted until we got all the different types of dogs we have today.

Cats are also descendants of wild animals, notice DESCENDANTS, they themselves are not wild animals.

These pets have been bred for thousands of years to get most of the aggression out of them so that they don't try to kill us, try that with a wild animal.