In most places owning a dog or a cat is second nature, but what about a tiger, a bear, or maybe a python? Exotic pet ownership is far from having a clear right or wrong answer, but it does require a ban for both the protection of the animal and the owner. For exotic pet owners, owning a wild beast provides a sense of power and uniqueness. It is also their way of contributing to the conservation of a species by having a “reserve population” once human population growth and habitat destruction have led to extinction (Slater 113). But in reality, owning wild animals as pets does nothing but damage already fragile ecosystems, both the one from which they come and the new one in which they find themselves. Captivity deprives an animal of its natural life in the wild, free from confinement and inadequate care. Finally, the risks for humans are very great; Injuries inflicted by exotic animals are dangerous and possibly fatal. Bans vary from state to state, from no ban to partial ban to complete ban, but even in states with complete bans, exotic pet ownership still occurs. Private ownership of an exotic animal as a pet should be banned in the United States, due to the damage to ecosystems, the dangers to which even wild animals are exposed, and the risks to owners of these pets. When animals are voluntarily or involuntarily released into the wild, many native species may be threatened by animals that have no natural predators in the foreign ecosystem. The ecosystem from which an animal comes can be damaged by the severe depletion of that species. Today there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild in Asia (Slater 106). Exotic animals may even feed on species to the point of extinction if there are no natural predators to keep the exotic wild... middle of paper... of exotic species, inadequate confinements and risks of animals being exposed and dangerous risks for man. Every year millions of animals are brought illegally into the United States; this produces serious consequences, with the possible destruction of fragile ecosystems. Equally important is the suffering animals face when they are purchased impulsively, only to be discarded when they become too much of a burden. Finally, when exotic animals are kept in private residences, human health and safety are at risk. There's no denying the magnificence of a wild animal, but what if it were removed from nature to become a pet in a cage? Does it still have the same beauty? The answer is simple, no. Nature can never be seen in an animal looking behind bars, because the moment it is put in a cage our connection through it to the natural world is lost..