Pets are a very important part of one’s life and this applies of course to those who are die heart animal lovers. Pet owners themselves would most probably be able to relate to when I say that they add a major touch of happiness to one’s life.

When you’re having a bad day they are the perfect ones to put a sweet smile on your face with just their presence around you. They manage to brighten your day with their love and affection because it is absolutely pure and genuine.

Then the thought of whether it is okay to keep all kinds of animals as pets comes to mind. Just yesterday a friend had asked me to get him turtles and I went to a local pet store near my house to find out if they were available. I was absolutely stunned when I got there. They had the turtles that I was looking for but that was not all.

As I entered the pet store I had noticed that it was extremely small and had many cages stacked in rows one on top of the other. They did have the turtles I was looking for and they were kept in a little glass container filled with filthy green water probably because it hadn’t been changed for weeks.

Not only did they have turtles and fish but baby crocodiles, pythons, and other exotic animals. There was one cage that really caught my attention and I asked the shop keeper what animal was in it and he bluntly told me a baby leopard. I laughed at his face and he told me was serious which is what shocked me and I asked him to show me.

As he uncovered the cage there was this wild cat staring at me with frightened eyes while snapping and hissing at me at the same time. I really would blame the poor animal but was so angry at the shop keeper. It wasn’t a leopard but a fishing cat which is a different species altogether but not a domestic house cat. It is a wild animal and deserves to live in its natural habitat not a little cage in a pet shop.

When I questioned him and told him how I thought it was wrong he justified himself telling me he has a license and he usually keeps them on his ten acre farm. Does that change the fact that he had an animal used to being free in the jungle caged up in a little pet store to show off to other people? Is it fair?

Do you support those who keep wild animals such as bears, tigers and lions as pets in their own homes? Isn’t it wrong to have them stay in a tiny cage or place rather than letting them grow up in their natural habitat?