Backyard big cat and other exotic animal breeding.

Poor animals. If I state this simply, large cats, bears and other wild and exotic animals are being kept in crude, cramped and in totally inadequate conditions to be bread and sold for the black market. They are kept in backyards, truckstops and even roadside "zoos" across the United states, with virtually no regulatory protection. It is illegal in the states to trade off these animals, but more then 31 states still allow the keeping and breading of the exotic backyard kittens.  This problem varies greatly, as there is little to no regulation there for statistics and other information on this issue is very hard to find.

Many organizations such as Big Cat Rescue, Big Cat Caucus, Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue, WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Animal Rights Africa, WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) and many sanctuaries world-wide are still trying to ban this pratice of he breading of exotic animals.


Each year, there are reports of serious injuries and fatalities due to the keeping of exotic cats such as lions and tigers and unfortunetly it is on the rise. It was estimated that more then 15000 big cats were currently being held outside of accredited zoos in the US alone (this represents a 500 percent increase since 1997.) Unfortunetly, the keeping of these cats can get quite expensive, there for the animals are set free when owners are unable to care for them. 1) they are not in their natural habitat 2) they cause a danger to citizens. Most recently in 2010 Illinois banned he keeping of primate pets... not much of a progress but its a start!
In my opinion, the idea that a large carnivore can be considered to be a family "pet" is so ridiculous that it can hardly be argued, especially considering how cruel and dangerous it really is.