In nearly any country on the planet, it is illegal to keep a wild feline as a pet, particularly when that wild feline is bigger than the average housecat. And yet day after  Buy maine coons online day animal control officers and animal rescue groups discover adult big cats – even lions and tigers – being kept as “pets” in tiny barred cages. How are these folks finding exotic big cats on the market?

On The Internet

Whether it’s chat rooms, forums, the who-knows-who network or blatant classifieds, these are the countless ways you’ll find illegal wild pets on the market online. New Yorkers in 2003 got an eye-opener when it had been discovered a 400 pound tiger was surviving in an apartment building. It’s thought that that tiger was bought as a cute little cub online from someone who had been illegally breeding the animals.

Breeders are available throughout the world, including Canada and the United States offering exotic big cats for sale. They have zero regard for the animals within their care, the animals they breed and for the owners of the young cubs bought. Make no mistake – they are not animal lovers. They just love money. And they have discovered a good way to part idiots from their money.

The Fate Of These Pets

Both the big cats and their owners often face an unhappy life in some type of cage. The owners are caged by the animal’s need to consume pounds and pounds of very costly fresh meat, and have some type of care. They can’t venture out for a walk like a dog due to the panic that could ensue. Inevitably, they can’t control or care for an animal that weighs countless pounds. Even when they have been declawed and defanged, the animals are still dangerous.

But it’s the big cats themselves who suffer the most. They’re raised in a environment that they certainly were not evolved to live in. They should wander miles every day and have some degree of independence to be able to be happy and healthy. When the cute phase has worn off, and the owner suffers their first hospitalization spell, the big cat is doomed to pay the remainder of their lives in a small cage, without the contact or cleaning.

Don’t Fall For It

Governments of the entire world barely care for their people, not to mention their animals. It is as much as individuals to be able to stop the cruel and illegal breeding of exotic big cats on the market by stopping the flow of cash to the breeders and sellers. In the event that you see an increase for a cute lynx, puma, lion or whatever, don’t contact this person. Contact your neighborhood animal control center for advice. If there is any legislation coming up in your community about banning the ownership of wild animals for pets, please vote to for it. And create the word this unnecessary cruelty must come to an end.