lions and tigers and.... cruelty ahhah

So i keep seeing posts with exotic animals and there are always comments from people wanting them. You may not realise, but if you're in the USA then this is the cause of a big problem. There are shelters run by good people to try to help rescued big cats but they shouldn't need to exist.

It's now estimated that there are more lions in the USA then in their wild environment and a lot of these are rescues from people who just wanted a pet but didn't think about the cost. This is part a much bigger problem of people keeping exotic pets. There is a reason we keep domesticated animals, we spent centuries training the hunting instinct out of them and creating relationships that are mutually beneficial and rewarding to the pets.

Whether it's something as small as a fennec fox or as large as a fully grown Tiger we are harming the animal by trying to domesticate them. Most people have good intentions but don't think about whether the animal can be trained, it's dietary requirements and what It's instincts could cause it to do.

So when I see a post with a cute tiger and lion and bear living together I don't see happy animals. I see animal abuse and these poor beauties doing what they can to live a good life.

tl;dr keeping exotic pets is animal abuse and dangerous.