Wolf Trust Wolves As Pets - Pet Wolves - Wolfdogs - Raising A Wolf Summary Wild animals do not make good pets. Wolves need friends, not owners. Web Address www.wolftrust.org.uk Email Address Wolf Trust

Pet Wolves The Wolf - father of dogs Wolves need friends, not owners. Courtesy Gerald & Buff Corsi, California Academy of Sciences: CalPhoto. So You Want A Pet Wolf? Many countries, states and local regions have specific regulations governing the acquisition and management of wolves. If you want a wolf as a pet you must find out the regulations in your area. If wolves are permitted as pets, you must then get a licence.* But think hard. A wolf knocking around, or being knocked around, by human society only rarely finds an adequate owner. These owners are at least fairly knowledgeable, have already been dog owners, are prepared for a wolf, and are conscientious of their obligation. Are you one? Would-be wolf-owners might imagine themselves getting a wild kind of dog. But the vast majority of wolf owners find their wolves are untrainable, unpredictable as adults - and even menacing, especially near small animals and children. The wolf is the father of dogs, but cannot be treated just like a dog. Pet wolves inevitably end up forlorn and solitary, chained in a backyard for the rest of their lives by an uncomprehending owner. This grim situation is a formula for wolf-human misfortune, or tragedy when someone gets hurt, and reinforces the misconception that wolves are Destruction Personified. Wossca. From Ernest Thompson Seton: Mainly About Wolves. Methuen, London. 1937. Some of these chained wolves are put down - like so many other pet wolves before them. Or they are dumped on someone else no better able to cope. Or they are given to breeders to make more cubs to perpetuate the suffering of pet wolves. Unwanted pet wolves in North America might be released into the wild, but they are likely to starve to death or be killed by resident wolf packs. How many people really want to see their erstwhile wolf friend end up like this? Wolves are wild animals and geared to their last fibre to survive in the wild. Wild animals do not make good pets in people's homes. Wolves are not wild pet dogs. Compatible and devoted dogs cram rehoming shelters. They all need a home. Some dog breeds, like Malamute, Husky and German shepherd Dog, resemble wolves. And some breeders are trying to establish a recognised breed of dog which looks like a wolf - the Utonagan (see links, next page). Why not try them? If you want a wolf, get a dog. Dogs are wolves people can live with. -- * In Britain, the keeping of wolves is strictly controlled and you need a licence to own one. For more see: Cusdin P A & Greenwood A G (2000): The keeping of wolf-hybrids in Great Britain. RSPCA. Page revised 11.04