How come we can't have some wild animals as pets?

Cheetahs and wolves for example. In ancient times, people used to keep these animals as pets and tamed them just fine, so why cant we have them today? Shouldnt they at least let us acquire some sort of wild pet permit instead of making them 100% illegal? Sure some animals would never be goodas pets, like Tigers or Bears, but wolves and cheetahs could do fine I think if we care for them properly.|||Regardless of how good of an owner you are, they're called *wild* animals for a reason. These animals have instincts to attack and kill for food that make your mouser pet cat look like like a stuffed animal. Domesticated animals still kill people every day. A wild animal is ten times, maybe a hundred times more aggressive than that.





They need way more room than normal pets. I doubt many people have the resources to provide a cheetah or wolf with enough room to roam as well as a secure fencing.





Working safely around these animals requires years of experience, and is still an extremely dangerous job. Not just anybody can handle a huge carnivorous mammal that is genetically designed to spend it's day hunting and gaining dominance amongst its pack members while fighting off anything it deems a threat to itself.





Even if you have the most docile wolf in the world, it just takes that one slip up. That one time you turn your back and he thinks he's playing and punctures your throat.





No, sorry, I don't think anyone is equipped to keep a wild animal as a pet.|||Well, I never knew having wild animals was illegal, what about all those snakes and spiders and exotic pets in general?


But as for wolves, it is possible to get wolves that have dogs' blood mixed with the wild ancestry.|||We have a bunch of wild animals for pets!





And that's not true what you said about tigers! We have several and they are wonderful pets!|||As someone who has had mustang horses, coy dogs (coyote + domestic dog) and bobcats, PLEASE listen.





Wild animals aren't pets. They're wild for a reason. They do NOT thrive in a cage or on a leash. And they don't "tame." My domestic cats aren't "tame," either. They have the same instincts as a lion. Imagine playing "finger wiggle" under the sheet with a 500lb cat?





Some of these animals need a great deal of territory, and a backyard or back bedroom isn't enough. Remember the news story last year or so about the guy in NYC who kept a lion and an alligator in his apartment? Both animals were malnourished, and one of them nearly took his leg off.





That's one reason they're illegal. Another is that like wolves, many animals are on the Endangered Species list. The "mystique" of trying to keep them as pets is one reason.





Forget ancient times. They're over. The natural food supply that could be hunted to feed these animals is long gone. The ability to have compounds for these animals to run in is gone, too.





I know there's a "romantic mystique" to having a wild animal or even a hybrid as a pet. I adopted the mustangs from the BLM, and the other animals were given to us. I found out how to care for these animals by calling vets, zoos, everyone I could think of and scoured any book I could find (this was before the internet). NOTHING prepared me for these animals.





The animals did fine, and lived out their incredible lives. I had to work more to save them from my neighbors than anything. I will always carry the scars on my skin from claws, teeth and hooves.





There is no insurance company that will cover your home with wild animals in it. If your wild animal even scares someone from looking out the window you could be sued. There are even those yahoos that would break onto your property to kill it for the thrill. I speak from experience.





That being said, it truly doesn't seem fair sometimes that other animals that were wild are kept as pets: monkeys, snakes, birds, etc. They cause injuries and damage too. A loose snake is one thing, a loose bear, wolf or lion is something else.





I know you would never hurt an animal or try to keep one that didn't belong in a house or cage. I'm trying to let you know the reality isn't at all like the fantasy.