The internet is full of videos of wild animals being kept as pets. I recently hit a stretch of algorithm-driven raccoon videos after I clicked on two cute reels of ‘pet’ raccoon’s doing funny things. Sure, they were funny and cute, and they might convince animal lovers that they would like a baby raccoon to raise as a pet.
In Winnipeg, the Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw ensures that only a few animals may be kept as pets, with raccoon’s being prohibited.
And that’s a good thing because raccoon’s are not pets. Most are a disaster when you try to domesticate them. My brother had one, rescued when its mother was run over, and it ended up becoming a pet. Sure, it was saved from sure death had he not “adopted” it, and it continually did things that would have ended up as TikToks had that been around then. But most of the time, it got into trouble.
Some of the trouble came from its attempts at escape. He had to fortify the windows and doors by adding locks her little hands couldn’t easily open. Never mind the number of screens that were destroyed. She also tried to burrow out of the house, destroying more drywall than an HGTV renovation show. But trying to restrain her movements in the house seemed cruel, as she was very frustrated with any level of captivity.
At another time, he was presented with a baby skunk, similarly orphaned, and while it was a much smaller animal, and was de-scented, it still proved a handful, with similarly mischievous and destructive habits.
Both had their moments, and while their cute habits probably didn’t make up for their not-so-cute habits, rescuing them seemed the right thing to do.
Now, with rehabilitation organizations available and willing to take in orphaned or abandoned animals, there is no reason to keep wild animals in captivity. These organizations save many orphaned animals each year, and if you have time or resources you can share with them, I guarantee it will make your life better.
Another wild scenario often happens in spring and summer, when we are out in nature, and come across a baby turtle, a frog, or even a salamander or snake. Because these types of animals are often sold in pet stores, many people think they can be taken from the wild and keep at home as pets.
The big difference between animals sold in a store and wild animals is their food supply. Retail pets are relatively easy to feed, accepting canned, prepared, frozen or live food such as crickets, which many pet stores carry. On the other hand, most local wild critters have very specific diets, and may be hard to feed. Some may adapt to the foods available in pet stores, but many just won’t. So, doing research before capturing one is a must.
If you do think you can handle caring for one of these little wild animals, I highly recommend doing it for only a limited time. These animals have hibernation cycles we cannot duplicate and keeping them over the winter will harm many of them. They also need to prepare for that hibernation, so releasing them near where they were found weeks before it gets cooler outside will allow them to prepare for winter, finding food to fatten up with, and a place to hide.
Wild animals are not meant to be pets but observing them in their natural habitat is something we should all do. Making sure their habitats survive is also a noble cause — and we should all pitch in to help make that happen.
