Dr. Bonnie Beaver is the former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association and a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Here she speaks about the hazards of trying to domesticate wild animals to keep as pets.

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There’s a reason they’re called “wild animals” – they were born in the wild and should stay there and people should not try to make them pets or the consequences can be deadly, says a nationally known animal behavior expert at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Bonnie Beaver, a former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association and a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, contends that exotic animals, such as lions, tigers, cougars, bears and chimps, such as the one that recently attacked its owner and her friend and had to be shot by police, are best left to be cared for by zoos, not individuals hoping to make them pets.

“Wild animals do not adapt well outside of their native habitat,” she says.

“They tend to retain their basic characteristics and their wild nature, and people who try to make pets out of them often get hurt, some very badly. I would strongly urge anyone considering buying an exotic animal to think twice about the idea. There is not one good reason to own one.”

Beaver adds that there are some amazing stories of individuals who have owned a wild animal for many years, and for no reason at all, the animal turns on them and attacks, sometimes with fatal consequences.

“These animals can turn from a loving creature to a potential killer in a split second,” she says.

“Something usually triggers the aggressive response in the animal. Either it didn’t get what it wanted, or it perceives something or someone as a threat, or it even has a medical condition that is causing it pain – any of these can make the animal turn on its owner quickly and violently.

“And if the animal should escape, many people could be at risk.”

Another big reason not to own such animals: cost.

The animals often have hefty price tags, some of them costing thousands of dollars, and they often need a special diet that can be very expensive.

“You can’t feed an exotic animal like you would a dog or a cat,” she notes. “Many exotic animals eat 6-8 pounds of meat every day and the cost of feeding them can really mount up.”

Beaver says that even animals that have been declawed or have had their teeth filed down can still cause significant damage to a human. And because exotic animals are often kept outdoors, it means they must be placed in cages, and very often there are numerous problems about such living arrangements, she notes.

The bottom line, she says: leave the caring for such animals to the experts such as zoos, where the animals can be admired and observed without the danger or expense of private ownership.

“Animals are made for a certain environment, and when you change that environment, the animal usually suffers in the long run,” she says.

Contact: Bonnie Beaver at (979) 845-2351 or bbeaver@cvm.tamu.edu or Keith Randall at (979) 845-4644 or keith-randall@tamu.edu