Every exotic pet is unpredictable in one way or another and that makes them dangerous. Exotic animals are dangerous to the persons who own them, to their neighbors, and to the entire community. Over the years, many cases have been reported where exotic animals held in captivity attacked humans and other animals in the house and in the community. Monkeys are known to bite and cause serious injuries to their owners, neighbors, and strangers. Both male and female monkeys tend to become aggressive and bite to either defend themselves or establish dominance.
When keeping big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, etc. you never know when they may bite you or attack you. They do pounce on people unexpectedly, with or without any provocation, and severely injure them or kill them.
Even if exotic animals are detained in cages, there have been many cases of them escaping and prowling the community. Many large cats do escape from their cages or confinements and terrorize communities. Several of these incidents have resulted in death or serious injury to the persons who came in contact with the animal or the death of the animal. Many children and adults have been mauled by tigers and bitten by monkeys and snakes who were on the loose.
Exotic animals pose serious health risks to human beings. Besides physical injuries from bites and scratches, exotic animals carry diseases. Many exotic animals carry zoonotic diseases, such as Monkey Pox, Herpes B, and Salmonellosis. Zoonotic diseases are diseases that generally live in animals, but can be transferred to humans.
Exotic animals such as monkeys tend to have the most potential of transmitting different diseases to humans. They are known to carry Herpes B, Monkey Pox, and Ebola. Reptiles have the possibility of spreading salmonellosis to humans. This happens when humans handle these animals and fail to wash their hands afterward. Salmonellosis can lead to severe diarrhea, headache, malaise, nausea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and even death.
