Why is it illegal to keep animals that are not endangered like squirrels as pets?

It is illegal to keep any native wildlife anywhere in the US (in any state, weather or not there are people doing it anyway)because people would constantly be collecting wildlife to the point that it could endanger them and people would end up damaging habitats trying to collect more animals to sell or keep as pets, so its the governments way of protecting our wildlife.Why is it illegal to keep animals that are not endangered like squirrels as pets?
I dont know where you live but here in Missouri you can have them as pets and alot of people do, as well as skunks, deer and other animalsWhy is it illegal to keep animals that are not endangered like squirrels as pets?
illegal? no. Wise? probably not.
Yes it is illegal to keep any wild animal as a pet in the United States, regardless of the species of wild animal or whether or not it's endangered (although the fee for the endangered species when you're caught is going to be a LOT bigger).
I had one as a pet...it was not a good idea I was younger at the time...once you got one as a pet never let it back out for it will not survive.
I don't think those are endangered...Well the ones on our ranch make good target practice, ours are endangered LOL...
never heard of that one. Where are you from?


I had a squirell monkey and i found a baby squirell that i kept as pet when i was a kid. I even had a catfish named dumdum. lol
wild animal, keeping them is cruel
They don't make good pets...and can be actually dangerous in captivity.
Hello,


I'm not sure where you live, but here in Central Pa. USA it's not illeagle to keep squirrels and other some wild animals as pets that I know of. Why would a person want to keep something like this caged up in the first place. Best to get them acustomed to you and keep them outside where you can keep track of all their antics from a safe distance (for both of you).





It's true, people have kept squirrels, skunks. racoons and other such rodents, even deer and larger animals as pets and it has worked out OK to a point. The problem, is that it can be such an unpredicatable situation. A wild animal is a wild animal and that's what they are, you can't change their basic instincts, which is where many of the problems develope as these animals age.





Several things can happen that can turn a cute, cudly, furry handful into a very dangerous hazzard. For one thing, It's not good to keep a pet caged up all the time, they just turn into an angry protective hostile beast that is no joy to have around. Yet if left to come and go as they wish, wild animals often turn territorial, and begin to compete for space within a hibitat (your house). They can be very destructive within a house while carving nitches for themselves. Then there is mating season. They can become unpredictable and very temprimental turning on the hand that feeds them in an instant. Can you imagine your kid being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Best leave wild animals to themselves, buy feeders and salt licks and let it go at that.





There are so many good pets that if bought from the right sources make excellent pets for kids. When my son was very young, I bought him a Chinchilla from a chinchilla ranch that we saw at a wild life show. He and this Chinchilla became the best of friends, talk about a cute, cuddly furball? lively personality loved playing games and love being handled and cuddled. This one lived 10 years and was replaced with another one that is still going strong at about 18 years. Not only Chinchillas but there are many types of domesticated animals that make excellent pets.


Best to you


I am Shockeedoc
I dunno......Maybe they cant live in unnatural environments.
because they are not demesticated animals...and because thy carrie dieses such as rabies and avian flu.