There are great welfare concerns when it comes to exotic pets, and although the owners may feel they are giving their pets great lives this is likely not the case.

Health Concerns

Lion eating Chicken

Exotic pets are just that; exotic, they come from a different environment. They are wild animals and it is impossible to provide them with all the conditions and resources they would have in their natural environment. Failure to do so could lead to sickness and suffering. The first major issue is nutrition. Proving an exotic animal with all the foods it would have access to in the wild can be incredibly difficult and most owners will substitute for more attainable or cost effective options. This could cause a nutrient deficiency for the animal would could lead to sickness and suffering. There is also not alway enough information available on what, and how much exactly a specific animal needs to eat. Owners have to consider things like climate as well. If they are moving an animal adapted to cold climates somewhere warm, there is a good chance the animal will be suffering from over heating. Then there is the issue providing veterinary care. It may be impossible to find a vet who is willing to and has the knowledge to be able to treat the exotic pet. Having said that there is the even bigger complication of actually determining if the animal is sick or in pain. Wild animals tend to be very stoic as showing weakness in the wild is a red flag to predators saying “eat me”.

Stress Concerns

girl with pet tiger, treated like a house cat

As well providing condition necessary to maintain an animal’s health directly, there are also conditions which should be met in order to reduce stress which can lead to poor health. Placing an animal in unfamiliar environment, which does not meet the conditions of its natural environment can cause great stress. The animals environment needs to provide outlets for the animal to preform natural behaviours. Not being able to do so can cause stress and suffering. Meeting the spacial needs of an exotic animal could also be very difficult, particularly for larger animals who need a certain territory size in the wild. There are also issues with recreating the specific habitat the animal requires, including the plant or prey species the animal may use in it’s natural behaviours. Most exotic pet owners keep their animals in cages which cannot in anyway meet the needs of these pets. Then there is the issue of the animal intraspecial interactions. Not being able to search for a mate or preform group living behaviours could be a great source of stress for an animal. Lastly these animals may be afraid of people and have to live in fear of their owners

For example, even small animals like the naked mole rat live in very specific conditions (colonies, complete darkness, ect.), which would be difficult to replicate.

Misstreatment

Chimp dressed of as a human

Lastly there is the issue of exotic pet owners mistreating their animals. This could easily be unintentional and simply caused by a lack of knowledge. Exotic pet owners sometimes try to give their pets anthropogenic traits, possibly dressing them in human clothes or training them to preform human tasks. This could cause a lot of suffering for an animal. As with regular pets, there are those owners who purposefully abuse their pets, and this may be an even greater concern with exotic pets as it could lead to the animal becoming violent. Owners may also be abusing their animal by through poor housing conditions which can have major health concerns. There are lots of cases of these animals being held in tiny, unclean cages, or over crowded to a disgusting level.

Overcrowded prairie dogs

Overall the welfare concerns for exotic pets seem endless. Their owners often feel they are proving better conditions for their pet than the animal could find in the wild, but in reality they could be causing a great deal of suffering. Based on the needs that must be met in order to provide good welfare it is almost impossible for an exotic pet to not be suffering in some way or at some point in their captive lives.