Persuasive Essay: Wild Animals Shouldn't Be Kept as Pets

You might have seen people in the media owning wild animals as pets. Owning a wild animal as a pet can be very dangerous and can cause harmful diseases. For example, Prairie dogs are cute but they can carry viruses that can spread to us! Just like how a bat had Covid then someone ate it, minutes later covid 19 started spreading, causing a new pandemic. People think that wild animal can be kept as pets, but others disagree. They think wild animals cause danger. People shouldn't own wild animals. 

Wild animals shouldn't be pets because they can be extremely harmful to humans and their surroundings. According to Wild Animals Aren’t Pets, a 2-year-old girl got strangled by a 12-foot Burmese python (a family pet that escaped its aquarium) in 2009. This shows that wild animals can be deadly to their owners. Additionally, it is hard to take care of an animal like a Burmese python. Wild animals belong in their natural habitat. It can snap then attack you at any time. Have you heard of the Terry Thompson story? Terry Tompson owned some wild animals such as tigers, bears, lions, and chimpanzees. He released them all, and the animals were running loose. Authorities then showed up having no choice but to protect the public by shooting the animals down. According to the article “Wild animals Aren't Pets” a wild animal as a pet can harm the public and the owner. When they are let free they have the freedom to attack the public or cause danger in an area. Wild animals shouldn't be pets.

However, many people think that we should be able to own exotic animals because wild animals aren't as dangerous as people think they are. According to "Let People Own Exotic Animals", it states, "in the United States only 3.25 people are killed by captive wild animals. Meanwhile, car accidents kill 125 people per day." This might be true, but wild animals that don't belong in cages or indoors can spread millions of diseases to us humans. An article states, "Exotic pets can bring exotic diseases into your living room. Monkeypox would usually infect monkeys, but it can spread to humans within seconds." We should not own wild animals, they are a threat to owners and society.

To wrap up what has been stated, wild animals shouldn't be kept as pets. It can cause many problems such as a start to a disease, or cause harm to humans. People think that animals can be pets because you have to be responsible. But many people also disagree with this claim; they think that wild animals are damaging to the animals and their owners.