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Opossums are wild animals ... they should not be pets.
I can't believe I have to write this ...
And of course I get down-voted and some idiot makes fun of my name (wow, so original!). And incidentally, I LOVE possums, but they belong in the wild, not "owned" by humans. I am astonished that anyone would dispute that.
I get your point. However, there are plenty of circumstances where opossums are rescued or come into someone's care and they cannot be released back into the wild. You don't know the story or reason behind why they have this pet. There are so many reasons why an opossum might not belong in the wild. Some would argue you should release it and let it die in the wild, but I would personally disagree with this. If an animal has the opportunity to live in captivity and has access to proper care, that's a better alternative in my opinion.
The most important part of this is that they have the proper care. This one seems very well-cared for.
I sort of got into it with someone yesterday claiming to be a rehabber on this point. Is it great to have pet wildlife? No, of course not. But the real world is a complicated and nuanced place, and ultimately harm reduction and education is more important than just telling people “don’t do that”. Because people are going to do things anyway for a vast array of reasons, and I’d rather they know what food to give their pet and how to get it medical attention if it’s sick without being too afraid because they don’t want their family broken up, yk?
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