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The Wildlife Position Paper deals with the many concerns of protecting wildlife native to the U.S. as well as prohibiting the private ownership of native wild animals and birds. While the U.S. has enacted laws to protect native wildlife populations in their natural habitats and to prevent the commercial exploitation of the majority of native wildlife species, this protection fails to extend to the wildlife of other countries.

The focus on human health and safety concerns has resulted in some federal and state regulations to govern the trade and transport of specific large exotic animal species considered to pose a threat to the public. But little attention has been paid to smaller species, though their numbers are far greater, because most are not generally classified as dangerous animals.

However, these animals tend to have more in common with large exotics than companion animals in terms of the challenges they face in captive environments and in the wild as a result of wild capture and trade.

Whether dealing with a captive-raised tiger or sugar glider, the fact is they are both wild animals living in conditions unnatural to their physical, social or environmental needs. Moreover, the trade in exotic animals in the U.S. increases the risk of disease transmission to native species and can have other, more far-reaching effects on the environment.

Large profits from the trade in wildlife, as well as the pet industry are largely responsible for popularizing exotic ‘pets’ and bringing exotic animals to market via pet stores, unregulated trafficking and animal markets, and over the Internet. As such, the problems of displacement, overpopulation, abuse, cruelty and abandonment do crossover with companion animal issues.

We also need to take protection aspects into account for “naturalized” species—those non-native wild animals that have been released or escaped and are successfully breeding and free-living in the wild here in the U.S.

Many exotic species common in the pet trade are endangered in the wild due to the pressures of habitat loss and trapping for the pet trade. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the profitability of the trade in wildlife is second only to the blackmarket trade in illegal drugs, both of which operate via the same individuals and infrastructure involving a large criminal network, corruption of government officials, a lack of enforcement of existing animal protections and supply and demand.

If we are truly going to change public perception about the keeping of wild animals as ‘pets’ in captivity, and instead, garner support for conservation programs to preserve them in their natural habitats, it’s important that we begin by acknowledging them for what they are: wild animals in captive situations. One of the primary reasons that these animals fall through the cracks of animal protection laws is that this distinction has not been clearly made in the minds of the public or legislators, particularly in regard to birds and other small exotic species. Since they are often classified as ‘exotic’ they do not get covered under pet shop or companion animal laws; and because they are not considered ‘large or dangerous’ they are not regarded in legislation covering wild or dangerous animals.

Therefore, to effectively represent protection interests for the wide variety of animals that need to be covered, it is crucial that the humane community first work to standardize and utilize accurate terminology to identify their status.

Animals kept as companions generally include domesticated dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, and rodents, as well as non-domesticated species such as birds and reptiles. Increasingly, however, native and non-native wildlife species (exotics) are wild-caught, captive-bred, or imported into the U.S. and sold as “pets.” These captive wild animals include non-native wild-caught animals who are imported into the U.S. and sold as pets, as well as native and non-native exotic species that are captive-bred in the U.S. specifically for the pet trade. Indeed, considerable debate remains about which, if any, may even be considered appropriate for human companionship.

Addressing the needs of exotics presents a special challenge to the animal community, lawmakers and the public at large. The wide range of species to be covered, each with unique physical and behavioral characteristics and specialized care needs, contributes to the difficulties of tackling the problems.

However, in order to develop a comprehensive public policy relating to the concerns of captive wild animals, we might look to breaking out groups of species separately as a starting point for recommended action (e.g., birds, exotic cats, wolves and wolf-hybrids, reptiles, elephants, marine mammals, ungulates and equines [deer, zebra, etc.], small mammals [prairie dogs, skunks, hedgehogs, etc.]), primates).

Undomesticated birds, reptiles, hedgehogs, monkeys, exotic cats, and other species are not suitable as companion animals. The pet industry’s promotion of these animals as “pets” has led to a burgeoning market that has doomed millions of them to captive living conditions that cannot possibly address their behavioral and psychological needs. Wild animals belong in the wild—not in our homes, basements or backyards.

As a result, the numbers of these animals ending up at shelter and sanctuary facilities, being confiscated from unsuitable, unsafe, or inhumane conditions, released, abandoned or escaping, is rapidly escalating.

State and local governments must seriously address the impact of undomesticated exotics with respect to their welfare and the impact on human health and join with the animal advocacy community to achieve the following legislative objectives.

While humans have “companionized” certain species by forcing them into the role of companion animals, in theory, the needs of all non-domesticated captive wild animals (both native and non-native) regardless of their size are compromised simply by captive living situations. Even smaller species such as finches may still exhibit stereotypic behavior that is accepted as normal in captivity but is abnormal behavior in the wild and a direct result of the stressors of captivity.

While some native and non-native wildlife species (e.g., some birds such as parakeets, cockatiels, finches, and lovebirds, some reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals) may be successfully adapted to captive living situations, the commonly accepted care standards are woefully inadequate. However, the psychological and behavioral needs of other native and non-native wildlife species (e.g., non-human primates, wolf hybrids, exotic cats, tigers, lions, large birds) cannot be met under captive living conditions.