I really find the sudden interest in keeping Meerkats, which are effectivly a wild animal and really were never meant to be kept as pets, pretty sad.

Kids are wanting Meerkats, their parents are buying them with no real clue on how to care for them, and Meerkats are subsequently suffering.

The same as with all 'craze' pets, spurred by movies, TV shows & in this case, and advert, will of course land up with hundreds of Meerkats being neglected, destroyed, and turned out into the wild, leading to another invasive specise threatening our native flora & fauna. Small animals like voles would be put at risk by wild roaming Meerkats, it is something that is really bad for the UK.

Can we really give Meerkats what nature intended? Meerkats are burrowing animals. Most people will probably land them up in a chinchilla cage, or worse, a hamster cage, with nothing reminisant of their wild lives.

I think there should be a need for a license, and perhaps a day long training course, before anyone is allowed to keep a pet this exotic, and demanding.

I think if they're in the right hands with large enclosures, in groups proper diet etc then they can be kept. But the idiots that keep a single meerkat on it's own in a tiny cage is just cruel.

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"A dog is not "almost human," and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such."
John Holmes

Owned by Buster cairn terrier mix and Leo netherland dwarf mix bunny

I wasn't aware that meerkats could be kept as pets. I don't think it's a good idea at all for the many reasons you have already stated.

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i only think its a good idea IF they have the right environment and diet, but as this is so hard to provide and so expensive to set up, then as a rule, no meerkats should NOT be kept as pets

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its a 100% No from me! as most people couldnt keep them in even remotely adequate conditions this means the majority will suffer immensly, so even when someone buys from a breeder feeling they can give one a good life they should think about the rest being bred most of those will live miserable lives....so imo folk should stop being so selfish and not support this cruel trade....meekats arent pets they arnt domesticated they are wild animals.

Our local petshop has two i wont go and look at them because ive heard how they are scrabbling on the glass of their enclosure frantic to get out...even 'hearing' that is upsetting enough to me

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"If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes."
L David Mech

We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself." -Farley Mowat

I think the only people that should be able to keep meerkats are zoo's or safari type parks.

They are not a domestic animal so IMO shouldn't be kept like one, especially as the majority of people that would want one as a pet wouldn't be able to offer everything they need

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I honestly had no idea people were keeping them as pets, I would have assumed it would have been illegal to sell them. its so sad that most people will just be getting them because they think the cartoon meerkat adverts are cute it's sad as so many will end up being kept in bad conditions

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Proud Mummy to
Cat - Holly
Guinea pigs - Pixie, Purdy and Popple
Rats - Biffy, Cooper and Moz



R.I.P to all my pets who have passed. They may be gone but they are forever in my heart.

I don't think people should be allowed to keep them as pets at all. They need to be kept with others of there own species, not in a tiny cage all on there own.

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RIP Rose, Harriet, Bella, Cassidy, Louis, Lacey and Timmy forever in my heart xxx

Glitter Graphics

10000% wholehearted no from me!

Same as I dont believe in marmasette (sorry about spelling) monkeys being kept as pets - some animals are just not meant to be kept as pets - I mean what next? Kola's? bears?tigers?

This years craze always ends up as next years rescue crisis

I dont think they make great pets and once people realise they create a smell due to scenting they will prob end up been rehomed every year.

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