Dr. Yin's Animal Behavior and Medicine Blog
Why Its Risky to Have Wild Animals as Pets
Posted On: Friday, July 15th, 2011
By Dr Sophia Yin
Pet deer attacks man! Pet wolf mauls child! Hand-raised tiger savages owner! Whenever one of these headlines flashes by my radar, I can't help thinking, "Why would anyone want a wild animal as a pet?"
Why are wild animals dangerous to keep as pets? For one, they are not behaviorally adapted to living with humans. See what a 40 year study involving undomesticated commercial farm foxes reveals about domestication. In this study, researchers selected only for tameness and over many generations they got a population of foxes that was not only friendlier to humans and easier to tame; they were behaviorally and physiologically more like fox puppies. Find out more in the Huffington Post.
Also read this article about the farm fox study by National Geographic.
Have you ever had a wild animal as a pet?
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