We now have zoos and education programs to help society learn the importance of our wildlife. Conservation of our environment and wildlife has become a major issue to scientist and others who believe in this cause. Our zoos have strict guidelines they must follow in order to be considered a zoo. These guidelines are from the American Zoological Association. This association works to protect and conserve our wildlife. .
State, local and federal laws vary by community and by animal regulate the sale and possession of exotic animals. Eight states, (California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Tennessee and West Virginia) ban private possession of exotic animals. Six states (Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, and Utah) have .
a partial ban. Seventeen states (Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, and Washington) requires a license or permit to posses exotic animals, while the remaining states neither prohibit or require a license. Yet there are no federal laws regulating private possession of exotic animals. Although the Endangered Species Act, the Public Health Services Act and the Lacey Act regulate the importation of exotic animals into the Untied States and across state lines.
Yet, private owners still take in pets such as lions, tigers, bears, wolves, reptiles and non-human primates. The non-domesticated by nature are wild and inherently dangerous. It is estimated that there are 6,000 to 7,000 tiger species owned by private collectors. .
Exotic animals do not adjust well to a captive environment. They require special care, housing, diet and maintenance that the average person cannot offer. People who own exotic pets often to change the nature of the animal rather than the care provided. "The owner uses tactics such as confinement, chaining, beating into submission, even painful mutilation like declawing and tooth removal".
