Why are wild animals, when kept as pets, a public health and safety concern?
Every year, privately owned wild animals seriously injure or kill humans. Pet snakes have suffocated babies; raccoons have killed children; and lions and tigers have mauled their owners. Individuals legitimately concerned about wild animals being kept in their neighborhoods regularly seek assistance in dealing with this problem. Animals in traveling acts also present considerable danger to the public. One particularly notorious act involved a wrestling bear that, though muzzled and declawed, managed to bite off fingers and break bones of his handler. Even small tiger cubs, used by traveling zoos that charge a fee to the public for a photo with the animal, have inflicted serious injuries to children. These are still wild animals and as such, are unpredictable and in any situation can inflict serious, if not fatal, injuries to children and adults. Furthermore, wild and exotic animals carry a number of diseases that are transmissible to humans, including polio, rabies, tuberculosis, hepat
