In Texas, You Can Own a Kangaroo, a Tiger Even a Gorilla. What Are They Thinking?

What are some of the words that come to mind when someone says kangaroo? Cute? Furry? Hops? You could likely name a hundred more, but there is one thing you probably wouldn't say — that kangaroos are pets.

But one woman in Texas begs to differ. The woman says she is a veterinarian and exotic animal breeder is hawking her animals online on popular platforms like Facebook. Any Tom, Dick or Harriet can contact her with a wad of cash and walk out with wild baby kangaroo. They don't need to be screened, just have the money.

If you are against selling wild animals as pets please sign. 

The "vet" charges $5000 for females and $2500 for neutered males. From her posts, you would think the kangaroos were plush toys. There are grotesque photos of diaper-clad roos hopping on a zebra skin rug, in another pic, she sticks several joeys in purses and hangs them from a coat hanger.

The reason why this woman or any other person in Texas is allowed to breed kangaroos and other wild animals is because it's not against the law. In Texas, a breeder simply needs the correct license.

And it's not just relatively docile animals like kangaroos that Texas lets people raise and buy. You can also own dangerous animals like big cats! According to Texas's dangerous animal registration laws, a registered person can own anything from lions, tigers to baboons, chimpanzees, and even gorillas. That's right, someone can have a gorilla in their backyard!

Wild animal ownership isn't just cruel, it puts the lives of both the animal and people at risk. There are countless stories of wild animals that have escaped their enclosure and have killed innocent bystanders or ones that have had to be put down by law enforcement once they are on the loose.

The state of Texas is being negligent by allowing ordinary citizens the opportunity to own dangerous animals. And they will be responsible for the deaths of innocent bystanders or the helpless animals themselves.

It's time to end wild animal ownership in Texas. Please sign the petition and demand that the state ban this practice today.