I don’t know why this is bothering me as much as it is, but it is. Somewhere in the comments, there’s a paragraph from the owners saying they bought him because they didn’t want someone else to buy it for it’s fur or to harm it, so they “rescued” it.
To me, “rescuing” it means reporting it to authorities, or maybe even buying it and then getting in touch with authorities and sanctuaries.
I do not doubt that they love this little dude. No doubt that they are taking good care of him. That doesn’t make it OK to keep it as a pet. The comments on the original posting run the spectrum, but here are a few of the arguments I find especially stupid.
But people keep dogs and cats as pets! Dogs and cats have been domesticated for centuries and they do not live the majority of their life in water.
The owners clearly love the otter and the otter is clearly happy! Yeah, because it’s a baby and it doesn’t know any better.
They’re not doing any harm and they rescued it from the fur trade! Rescuing it would entail buying it, then handing it over to any number of rescue organizations.
People keep snakes and lizards! They are not as rare as otters. They’re populations are not low like otters’ are. Snakes and lizards may not flourish in captivity, but otters live their lives swimming, and breaking shells open, and holding hands with their family members.
When I think of otters in the wild and how they learn how to crack shells for food, and are in the water all the time, and hold hands with each other when they sleep, seeing this video breaks my heart.
BEAN'S BABBLETORIUM 