Can You Legally Own A Penguin As A Pet?

If you are willing to fulfill all the above-mentioned conditions, there are several other considerations as well. You will need to get the appropriate permits that can vary in cost depending on your local authorities. Your destination for penguin shopping, gifts, toys and fun. A fascinating underwater world exploding with color and luminescence is waiting to be explored in our aquariums, directly beside Journey to Atlantis®.

Encounters sell out fast and it is recommended you purchase your tickets in advance. Zoos make it possible through lots of funding and work with wildlife charities. Mind you, adopting a penguin is not a symbolic act through and through.

What Adoption Entails for the Penguins

In this part of the Antarctic Treaty, rules are laid out regarding the protection of penguins. Penguins catch prey in their beaks and then swallow whole even as they swim. Certain species only leave the water for breeding and molting.

They are pack animals and need at least 20 or more other penguins for socialization. To keep a penguin as a pet would also take an exceptional amount of fish, freshwater, and saltwater to survive. Even if you were to have a penguin as a pet, it would mature very slowly and live for up to 15 or 20 years in captivity. It’s not just the space needs of caring for 20 or more birds that makes keeping penguins practically impossible. You’ll also need to keep their area at a constant degrees Fahrenheit.

Why do penguins molt?

Some other exotic animals that you can keep under certain circumstances include Chimpanzees and Wallabies. Bearded dragons and hedgehogs are even considered to be exotic animals, but you can keep them without any permits or special paperwork. Let’s face it, penguins are some of the cutest animals on earth. Penguins will need a large habitat with vegetation, temperature control a deep pool of salt water. A habitat can cost tens of thousands of dollars and maintenance, especially for the water, can reach well into the thousands annually.

After you’ve found a penguin that was born in captivity, there will be a ton of legal paperwork and permits that must be documented and approved. 11 of the 18 penguin species are on the endangered species list. We hope that instead of buying you should consider adopting a penguin at a local zoo. Do let us know if you have any questions or queries about how much penguins cost. Our team will do its best to answer your questions in the comment section. There are several advantages of adopting a penguin as you will be contributing to the welfare of a species that is under the threat of extinction.

How Much Do Penguins Cost?

And, no one state bans all wildlife from becoming a domesticated pet. For example, birds are wild animals, but you can own most bird species as a pet. Reptiles, even ones from exotic lands, are often kept as pets.

Penguins are pack animals, which means they require constant companionship in order to stay healthy and happy. Therefore, if you are considering getting a penguin for your zoo, you might as well consider getting more than one from the get-go. The purpose of the document is to regulate the international trade of wild animals, including penguins.

Penguin Edge Product Line

For the longest time, penguins were hunted and killed for food and fat, while their habitats were continually destroyed by climate change and unaware humans. As a result, out of eighteen penguin species known to humankind, ten are currently considered endangered. Nevertheless, people can still keep a number How to buy a penguin of exotic animals in the US as pets if they can provide the right conditions for them. So although you can keep a hedgehog, an anteater, or even a chimpanzee in some US states, the same doesn’t apply to having a penguin as a pet. The penguin doesn’t meet the criteria for an easily domesticated animal.

Penguins feed several times a day so they will need constant attention for their feeding times. Feeding a number of penguins can cost several thousands of dollars depending on the kind of fish you choose to feed them. Penguins are aquatic and flightless birds found living in the Southern Hemisphere. Countries like South Africa, Australia, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, and several sub-Antarctic islands are home to the various 18 penguin species. Eleven of these species are officially on the endangered wildlife list.

After Innovative Treatment, this African Penguin is Thriving

This isn’t just a US law, it’s something that countries across the globe agreed to. You’ll be facing some serious trouble if you somehow managed to get your hands on a penguin, which would be near-impossible anyway. Penguins are flightless marine birds and an iconic figure in the avian world. Before thinking about purchasing a penguin, keep in mind, in order to legally own one, you will need a special permit and paperwork from your local state.

It would be impossible to keep just one, let alone two, when they’re used to so many in their natural community. It would be nearly impossible to keep a penguin as a pet for many reasons. Add to that the yearly budget for feeding (about $1,000 per penguin) and all the expenses of securing a proper shelter and pool, and you will see that getting a penguin is quite an investment. If you are running a small zoo and are on a tight budget, you might want to plan this thoroughly. Naturally, unless you are also an incredibly skillful fisherman, chances are you will have to go and buy the fish.