It seems to be becoming a worrying trend of meerkats being seen as a cute pet. They are without doubt gorgeous animals and they look very cute and cuddly! Now there have been a few things in the news about meerkats being stolen.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-12174847
It was later found as shown in the news report by the BBC. The poor thing had been killed. The metro linked the stolen meerkat to the increase in popularity of the compare the market advert.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/852455-zoo-keepers-fear-meerkat-stolen-by-aleksander-orlov-fan
The video shows a meerkat all dressed up and there have been various ones following. The meerkat in the advert has become quite something, children wanting cuddly toys of him is it really that surprising they now want them as pets? Is it right that they should be pets? It happened before with a penguin that was believed to have been stolen after the film "March of the Penguins."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4547722.stm
Should parents be giving into their children and stealing and importing animals that really shouldn't be kept as pets?
The RSPCA are becoming concerned at the number of exotic animals being kept as pets. The BBC even posted an article yesterday with the concerns and the dangers of keeping these animals as pets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/lincolnshire/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9391000/9391589.stm
They are not suppose to be kept in the environment they would be kept in while in a house, some argue that these animals shouldn't even be kept in zoo's so is it really fair for someone to then take them into their homes? All because of an animated animal on the television?
It's hard not to wonder sometimes what goes through a parents head when they steal these animals or import them into the country. Are they really caring about their children giving them an animal which can be potentially dangerous. Meerkats have sharp teeth and aren't afraid to use them.
