karen Campbell

Wildlife should not be kept as pets. Only domesticated animals should be pets. There are times when wildlife are injured or orphaned and when knowledgeable humans can intervene to help a wild animal recover, with the goal being the animal should be released back to the wild. Occasionally animals are injured too badly or are habituated to people too much and they cannot be released. In those cases only people who are knowledgable enough to know what they need for longterm care should be allowed to keep them. I have seen first hand hundreds of times the negative outcomes that occur when people who are not qualified to keep wild animals attempt to keep them long-term. This is because I am a veterinarian and I have worked and volunteered as a wildlife rehabilitator off and on over the past 30 years and have seen the malnourished, debilitated, deformed, maladjusted, mentally damaged animals that result when someone who may be well intentioned, but is not educated, tries to take care of a wild animal. That is why permitting is necessary. People have to demonstrate they have the knowledge base and the physical facilities to take care of such animals long-term. Most people do not meet these qualifications and they need to be weeded out so wild animals do not have to endure long-term suffering. The need to have a permit to keep a wild animal should remain in place.