Christin Clement / Staff reporter
Today more and more exotic pets have become a status symbol for a lot of different people who want to show their wealth or their ego. The unusual pets are wild animals and shouldn’t live with humans.
“Short answer, foxes make terrible pets. Fennec or otherwise. Also you are buying in to the exotic pet industry, a morally questionable purchase all things considered. Get a dog!” wrote Gray Tylor a raven master at the disabled wild bird initiative in an online forum about fennec foxes.
Fennec foxes are wild animals and live in the deserts of Africa because of such extreme conditions the fennec foxes have enveloped to suit the desert environment with their coat or large ears. Due to these aspects is it illegal to keep wild foxes as a pet in B.C., some states of America, Australia and Hungary. The exotic animals are trapped and poached by hunters in North Africa, and sold for the international pet trade.
When mostly all people that have pets, have a dog or a cat, why do people want a wild animal as a pet? One of the main reasons is that they are considered as “ridiculously cute. Next level adorable. Large fluffy ears, cute little faces, big bushy tail,” said Feng Williams an exotic animal sanctuary worker in an online forum. Another reason is, that “they are friendly and can be enjoyed by the whole family,” said Rumel Kahn an author. Fennec foxes are requested animals just because they are cute.
These exotic animals also have another habitat than living as a pet in a house. The fennec foxes have their natural habitat in North Africa. More and more people from the United States want a fennec fox as a pet, but the wild animals need to run free to behave their instincts. Another aspect is, that these foxes are nocturnal, which means they’re more active at night. It can be critical for people that want a fennec fox as a pet because they need a lot of care and most people can’t give them enough of what they need to live.
The little desert foxes are illegal in some countries and in some states of the U.S. and this has his reasons. They are not made to be a pet but a lot of people don’t care about it.
“ They are very cute. And it doesn’t matter if they are legal or not. If you care about foxes you will never, ever consider getting one as a pet. If you care about foxes, and not having a status symbol or something that is different just to stroke your ego, you will read this from beginning to end,” said Mercedes R. Lackey a top writer in an online forumabout the question “Are fennec foxes legal as pets in North Carolina?”
It’s a controversial subject because some people want to have a fennec fox as a pet but a lot of people especially animals lovers or sanctuary workers are completely against it. People should research about having an exotic animal as a pet and get their own opinion about it.
Sources:
Should You Keep Fennec Fox (Desert Fox) as a Pet? by Lianne McLeod
Do Fennec Foxes Make Great Pets? What You Need to Know! by Nicole Cosgrove
Is a Fennec Fox a good pet? an online forum
Are fennec foxes endangered? How many of them are left in the wild? by Joanna
13 Fennec Fox Facts You Need To Know by unusualpetsguide