Why you should stick to dogs or cats as pets #73

mrcol1000

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Bear-Mauls-Woman-To-Death-In-Ross-Township-Pennsylvania-Kelly-Ann-Walz/Article/200910115399806?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_2&lid=ARTICLE_15399806_Bear_Mauls_Woman_To_Death_In_Ross_Township%2C_Pennsylvania%3A_Kelly_Ann_Walz

lowis

she kept a 350lb bear in a 15 foot by 15 foot cage....!?
i reckon she got her deserved karma!

WestWalesWannabee

Absolutely! How stupid!

walwin

The sad part of this story is the bear was shot and killed

lowis

yup, i feel sad for the bear

Ruby_Moon

WestWalesWannabee wrote: »

Absolutely! How stupid!

It is. Even though she had a licence to keep these animals it still is stupid but where should the line be drawn?
Should we keep cameleons? Iguanas? Snakes? Spiders? Parrots? Monkeys? Chinchillas? the list could go on.

Is it just animals that may turn on us we should not keep? Or is it animals who just shouldnt be domesticated that we should not keep?
Its an interesting debate.

YorkiePud_3

.. and you can be sure no-one will ever agree!!

Belisarius

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

It is. Even though she had a licence to keep these animals it still is stupid but where should the line be drawn?
Should we keep cameleons? Iguanas? Snakes? Spiders? Parrots? Monkeys? Chinchillas? the list could go on.

Is it just animals that may turn on us we should not keep? Or is it animals who just shouldnt be domesticated that we should not keep?
Its an interesting debate.

I actually think it's pretty cruel to keep any animal as a pet that has to be housed in a cage for the majority of the time. But it's not a popular view

Ruby_Moon

Belisarius wrote: »

I actually think it's pretty cruel to keep any animal as a pet that has to be housed in a cage for the majority of the time. But it's not a popular view

I am with you all the way on this one.

Cage = no no.

If your 'pet' doesn't stay in the house or the garden when it is left to its own devices (or knows to return, like a cat), then it should not be kept as a pet.

Humphrey10

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Is it just animals that may turn on us we should not keep? Or is it animals who just shouldnt be domesticated that we should not keep?
Its an interesting debate.

There's an article in New Scientist this week (3rd Oct issue) about domesticating animals, and how quickly they become tame if you breed from only the friendly ones.

It gives the example of an experiment in Russia where they had a lot of success breeding tame silver foxes, and also breeding aggressive and friendly rats from the same starting population, it didn't take long before the two rat groups behaved completely differently.

It's worth a read if you're interested in this stuff!

Petal_3

I don't know if I would say it was cruel to keep caged animals....it depends on size of cage and amount of stimulus the animals have etc etc. My 7yr son recently asked for a pet "of his very own" (we have an adult cat) - I discussed with him that, for us, keeping animals in cages was not an option and he agreed. He now has a kitten! For me, seeing any animal in a cage makes me feel sad - how could I enjoy owning one? I don't like anything in cages and birds in cages just seems so wrong to me. I don't even like fish tanks! :rotfl: