Everyone (well, most of us) loves pets. While most of us limit that love to more conventional animals such as dogs, cats, budgerigars, and fish, there are many who extend it to animals such as snakes and chimpanzees. This gives rise to the debate over keeping exotic wild animals as pets.
In an age of the rising influence of various animal rights movements, the ever-growing trade in exotic pets is an obvious culprit, and regularly finds itself under the microscope. The reason why the debate over exotic pets has rumbled on for so long is that there is no simple answer. There are equally sound arguments on both sides of the debate, and a conclusion is hard to reach. Here's an attempt to do just that.