Wild animal pets -Why is human desire first and animal welfare last?
Wild animal pets -Why is human desire first and animal welfare last? There seems to have been a recent influx of social media posts and TV program focusing on the keeping of exotic animals in private ownership, or for use in entertainment or as a tourist attraction. Most notable of these was a UK TV documentary Britain’s Tiger Kings , whose main story revolved around the people and personalities keeping wild animals and not so much on the animals themselves. In our latest blog, we consider the impact of keeping wild animals as pets on the animals themselves and ask whether proper regard is being given for animal welfare, or if human desire is all that’s being considered? While animal welfare legislation is lacking or not appropriate in many countries around the world, and laws around keeping animals in captivity is all too often focused on human health and safety and less on animal welfare, we really need to keep our focus on the science and ethics of keeping wi...