No. You can't own Nature

This is a topic that has been vexing me for quite a while. Ever since I started working with captive wolves and even before, I've always heard or read about people having the desire to have wild animals as pets. Although some wild animals can be “domesticated”without much effort (see  birds of prey for falconry and wild horses broken for riding) some others don’t. If you think it would be awesome to have a wolf, a lion, a tiger or whatever other animal as a pet well then you should understand that you can’t own or tame nature and here is why.

Our ancestors did a great job at selecting traits they wanted from the wild cousins of our domesticated animals. They breed aggressiveness out of wolves and cats, they domesticated farm animals and made our lives a lot easier. They did all that because at some point someone realized that some animals were easier to handle and selected for them. They did so because some people probably were injured or killed by aggressive animals. So why would you want to go back to the wild animals?

My theory is because people want to own a piece of wilderness. The wolf is and will be a symbol of what is wild. The lion and tiger are both majestic animals that demonstrate the raw ferocity of nature.  Sharks and crocodiles represent predators, effective killing machines. It is then no wonder why most people who want to own wild animals choose to own predators. Predators have always magnetized us. If it’s not predators then it will often be primates or other animals which are deemed as intelligent. Very few people want to own a pet deer or a pet boar. And here lies the problem. Predators are wild animals that are tuned to hunt for prey. They receive cues for hunting and will always take the opportunity to hunt and kill if they are hungry. To think that people can tame these animals is ridiculous.

 One of the theories that seem to be oddly prevalent is that if a predator has not had blood or meat then it will be friendly and will not need to kill. Unfortunately it does not work that way. If you watch at least one documentary on predators, you will notice that most young emulate or attempt to hunt even if they haven’t observed family members doing so. Predators are hardwired by their DNA to response to certain cues which trigger their predatory instinct. Jerky movements, nervous behavior, loud screeching and anything that would emulate a prey animal in distress triggers the instinct. While they are still young, they may not succeed at the hunt. Even if they grow up they may not succeed in killing an animal alone. However they will try and this will of course mean that the animal will become potentially dangerous for the owner.

Another theory is that if animals are obtained when young, then they can be socialized and act as regular pets. In the Wolf Science Center here as well as Wolf Watch UK I had the pleasure of working with socialized animals. These wolves were hand-raised when they were puppies and are relaxed around humans and will obey commands given to trainers. Hence they can be pets right? Wrong.  Let’s assume that someone wants to own a wolf. Apart from the part that wolves don’t do well as lone wolves as they become more neurotic and shy, let’s say they manage to provide all the socialization needed as well as all the space and stimulation needed. What is the issue here is a few things. Firstly wolf play is not like dog play. Wolves play hard. They are used to con-specifics tolerating biting, pulling, scratching and all sorts of rough play. Rough play for these animals can equate to serious damage for humans.  Some of the so called animal attacks are actually captive animals wanting to play or getting riled up and wanting to play.  In addition to that, most of the trainers here, and everywhere else that socialized animals are kept, work hard to maintain a working relationship with the animals. And not only that, the trainers sometimes also understand and give these animals room and time if a strain occurs on the relationship. Owning a wild animal as a pet and forcing them to interact with you when they don't want to is a disaster waiting to happen. Also if you cannot properly read the animal's behavior you may mistake certain situations which may put you in danger.

These wild animals are not suitable as pets. Regardless of how many books or films you watch, having a wild animal as a pet is an accident waiting to happen. There are a lot of domestic animals who need love and care and you won’t be risking your life or their life by having them.

Animal Rights 2:Pets

I want to talk to you about pets and the arguments some people use. Should pets have more rights? And so forth and so forth. 
For starters several countries in Western Europe as well as the United States and Canada and Australia have all adopted strict regulations when it comes to animal cruelty and animal rights. But are these enough?

I come from Cyprus, a small island in the E.U, where animal rights barely matter. Few movements are starting to appear and they are requesting animal policing and better animal laws. It is a new thing in Cyprus for people to care about animal welfare. What kind of rights should animals have and where do we draw the line between laws affective animals and laws affecting humans.

 Senseless beatings and abuse of animals. This is one thing that really grinds my gears. Want to yell and scream at your pet? Although it does make me uncomfortable and I disagree, it is like parenting  so I kinda can't intervene although I don't like it. However beating up or abusing your pets is a horrible act. Should it be punished the same way as a human being abuse? I hear people saying yes. I am okay with that. I want the same rights for animals and humans. However others don't feel so comfortable with this and need to distinguish themselves from animals due to potential, sentience etc. People argue that the penalty for human murder shouldn't be the same as  an animal  but others argue that if you are willing to torture or kill animals then you are capable of doing the same thing with animals.
 For me it really doesn't matter. I want those people punished. I want them to be punished severely. Whether it is the same as a human equivalent, worse or better I don't mind although I prefer equal rights. As long as the sentence is severe enough to either discourage or punish the perpetrators then I am happy.

Pets in restaurants and public places. This is perhaps the least of our worries but they are important to some. Should pets be allowed in public places such as restaurants, pubs etc? I honestly see no reason not to. If the pets are behaving properly and there are no hygiene reasons(for example a dog or cat pooping in the restaurant, potentially poisonous pets etc) then I see no reason as to why animals shouldn't be allowed in public places. My question however is, should we bring them there? 
A lot of animals have sensitive hearing. Bringing a dog to a restaurant/cafe/pub that plays music that is louder than normal may mean that the animal will suffer. Usually they will show it but just as humans can tolerate loud noises so can some animals. It doesn't mean they enjoy it, but rather that they just tolerate it because they have no other place to go. So maybe we shouldn't be as sensitive about leaving our pets at home or with someone with a little while as we go out. If not then pet friendly places may be a choice. If they don't exist then I agree that they should be introduced, with the government offering incentive to owners allowing pets.

Overall although pets are much better off in Western countries the situation is still bad in a lot of places in the world. Even so regulations need to be stricter and more monitored. But perhaps instead of that maybe we should focus on making sure that the rest of the world shares the same views with us on pets.