Dogs and cats are the most popular pets in Germany, but many children's rooms also have hamsters or rabbits - and sometimes animals that you would not have expected ...
A kangaroo in the garden or a puma on the couch - there are quite a few animal roommates in Germany's households that you would not expect.
Many exotic species can even be kept legally in this country - under certain minimum requirements, but often without proper control.
As
reported by echo24.de
*, keeping is actually only prohibited for 33 animal species nationwide.
So it happens that various wild animals for the home garden or living room can be bought on the Internet.
According to the study “Endstation Wohnen” by the organization
Pro Wildlife
, 10,120 animals from 291 different species were offered for sale between 2010 and 2014.
With them, for example, capuchin monkeys or cheetahs.
Wild animals as pets?
Much is legal - but is keeping it species-appropriate?
But experts warn: The keeping and trade of and with wild animals should be viewed critically, because these animals have behaviors and demands on their environment that make them unsuitable for keeping pets.
Using the example of a sugar glider, the
world
explains
in a report what life in the living room can mean for a wild animal.
On the one hand, the cute little animal with the bulging eyes is nocturnal, on the other hand it actually lives in the wild in a group of conspecifics and glides around in the treetops with the help of flying membranes.
All these characteristics indicate that keeping them in a cage or in an apartment could hardly be appropriate to the species.
In addition, exotic species can also transmit exotic diseases to humans - or they can be physically dangerous.
Exotic pets: Often no previous knowledge is required
Because most of the exotic animals that can be purchased on the Internet are not domesticated species - that is, they were not, like dogs or cats, specially bred for human life and thus adapted to everyday life with their master or mistress.
But many only realize too late that the extraordinary roommate not only looks cute, but also does a lot of work and may have special requirements.
This is partly due to the fact that no previous knowledge is required for anonymous purchases at the click of a mouse.
In most cases, there is also no advice on keeping and caring for animals.
More and more often, the exotic pets are abandoned or given to animal shelters and rescue centers.
But if keeping wildlife is so complicated, why is it legal in so many cases?
Wild animals as pets: These species have already been sold in Germany
According to
Pro Wildlife, this
is due to the fact that the keeping and trade of wild animals in private hands in the Federal Republic of Germany are not - or only inadequately - regulated.
Although some protected species are required to report, the authorities assume that only an extremely small number are actually reported.
The Department for Urban Planning and Building Regulations Munich estimated in 2014 that only about every tenth animal is registered.
These species have been offered in Germany in recent years:
Exotic rodents
: for example dormouse, mountain hare, prairie dog, palm squirrel, Chinese gray squirrel, chipmunk, spotted squirrel, mara, naked mole rat, jumping hare, porcupine
Predators
: for example brown bear, jackal, wolf, desert fox, cheetah, caracal, liger, savannah cat, ocelot, serval, meerkat, badger, puma, snow leopard
Primates
: for example white-hand gibbon, capuchin monkey, ring-tailed lemur, barbary monkey, potto, chimpanzee, squirrel monkey
Marsupial mammals
: for example opossum, derby wallaby, parma kangaroo, red giant kangaroo, wombat, feather-tailed
pouch
Other species
: for example African white-bellied hedgehog, fruit bat, sloth, armadillo, proboscis, tamandua
After all: in eight out of 16 federal states there are regulations on keeping dangerous animals in private hands.
But these differ greatly.
For example, great apes and large big cats are sometimes classified as dangerous - but their somewhat smaller conspecifics, such as medium-sized primates, small bears or smaller big cats, have so far been often underestimated in legislation.
For example, you can legally keep a puma in Baden-Württemberg without any problems, in Berlin and Hesse this is prohibited - in Bavaria you only have to meet certain requirements and can then let the big cat move in.
But the experts from "Pro Wildlife" explain: "The private keeping of exotic animals sometimes takes on grotesque features and is often a misunderstood love of animals: catching, transporting and trading mean torment for the animals."
Exotic pets: Paradoxical regulation - domestic wild animals are often forbidden as pets
The result: a large number of imported living things die on the way to private ownership.
Many become sick over time in captivity.
This is often difficult for the keeper to recognize, because wild animals hide pain in their familiar surroundings so that they do not become easy prey in the wild.
But also in Baden-Württemberg there are well-known examples of wild animals that are kept as pets. Cheetahs * have been living in a hotel in Heilbronn for years. Keeping them here is completely legal. In addition, a Heilbronn company keeps a bird of prey as a pet *. In Karlsruhe, on the other hand, a woman is currently being investigated who kept a fox pup as a pet *. That reports
BW24.de
*. Little Diego was taken away from her for animal welfare reasons.
And that is the paradox of the whole story: that keeping imported species in Germany is legal in most cases - keeping native mammals like squirrels or hedgehogs is forbidden.
Because these species are strictly protected in the Federal Republic of Germany and the EU.
For example, the native hedgehog cannot simply be taken with you, but African white-bellied hedgehogs can be kept at home.
So in the end the question arises: If you want a pet, can't it be one that feels comfortable and at home in your own four walls?
After all, keeping a wild animal - even if it is legal - often has nothing to do with animal love.
* echo24.de and * bw24.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.