AIBU to say that no one should own a caged pet?

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My parents loved animals and hated to see caged pets ie rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs etc. I did end up having one or two of these as a child but they always hated it really.
Now I have DC and they ask regularly for a rabbit, hamster etc. I just can’t agree. I think it’s so cruel. Hamsters gnaw on the bars all night to try in vain to get out.
Rabbits stuck in hutches or small runs all day.
Many people claim to love animals but how can they when they are caging animals? I can’t even stand to see fish in a tank!
Hate house cats too. Also think it’s cruel.

I think it depends how big their cage is. I had rabbits and a big enclosure. They were pretty happy as far as I could tell.

Yanbu. We had rabbits and I couldn’t cope with the guilt, I let them out in the garden for hours a day but the neighbours weren’t too happy with having their flowers nibbled. I’ll only get a dog now as I know we can give it a good quality of life.

But even if they have a huge run it’s still freezing in the winter?

I totally agree. My neighbour has a sad little bunny in a tiny cage and it’s heartbreaking. I hate animals in cages.

Why do they need to be in a small run or hutch? Why not a big run, with lots to do, and human interaction?

While I don’t think you’re being unreasonable I had the best hamsters when I was little who never chewed on the bars and were out most of the time being played with (I mean playing rather than me as a seven year old playing with them like they were toys!) they had balls which I learnt from Mumsnet are now really frowned upon but they’d have the run of the house and seemed to love them. They also used to run around in a gang with the cat. But I’ve never had hamsters since because they were clearly EXCEPTIONABLE and all other pets must bow down to them.

Agree! I'm even against dog ownership. It's pet slavery. I actually have a dog, which DH has as a puppy before we met. When she dies, I'm done.

Even a big run in my mind is still cruel. You have to put them away at night in a smaller hutch. Most likely on their own or with only one other rabbit. Most people don’t have room for big runs. The vast majority have a very small run with a wire floor. Can’t stand the thought of them treading on a wire floor all day unable to burrow which is a natural instinct for them

Also rabbits don’t want human interaction. They want a field to run in, burrow in, plants to eat and chose themselves and other rabbits to mate with.

Yes, it's horrible. Outdoors and indoors. Try sitting all your life in a toilet with a food bowl.

We have 4 rats. They have the run of the place during the day but we keep them in a cage overnight (mainly to ensure they're safe). That said, 2 of them tend to return to the cage to nap in the day (and all of them return to the cage to toilet).

I think cages are okay as long as the pets in question get sufficient daily exercise and attention. The cage also needs to be sufficiently large - most of the cages sold in pet stores are far too small for most pets' needs.

I disagree with you on house cats though, but there are lots of predators where I am (meaning that cats that are allowed outdoors usually die very young).

@Jane67996 I feel happier with dog ownership if and only if the human is around most of the time for the dog and gives it plenty of excercise in a largish house. Hate the idea of large dogs in a tiny terrace with a small garden. Hate the idea of dogs on their own whilst the owners are at work outside the home. Also ok with cat ownership as long as they are allowed outside where they like and well fed and cared for

I'm the same, I hate caged animals as pets and even in the zoo for that matter. It's cruel.
I don't have any pets because of this exact reason, they should be free.

Look at how us humans have been feeling during the lockdown for a few weeks. Well
Animals need social interaction and have feelings too.

I have a giant rabbit and alot of people have them cage free in the house now

@Ratasha better if they are allowed to roam around the house every day but how do they not escape?
IMO if cats can’t be let out or it’s not safe to do so, they shouldn’t be kept as pets

I agree re caged animals, I’d love rats, but I refuse to have a caged anima, I think it’s shit for them.

I absolutely hate seeing caged birds. Or any birds kept as pets. They should be out in their natural habitat flying around. Parrots should not be allowed as a domestic pet.

Depends on the pet. If it's something like a tarantula...do they even mind? Hard to tell.

I hate to see rabbits in tiny cages though, yanbu on that.

My bunnies have the run of a section of the garden in the day and the living room in the evening (cage / bed is inside). Most evenings they sit on the sofa with me despite having space. They’re 6 and 7 years old and really healthy.

I think there’s a way to keep them humanely but I hate caged birds.

better if they are allowed to roam around the house every day but how do they not escape?
We have mesh screens that we put over any open windows or doors. One did sneak outside, unnoticed once and we accidentally locked her out, but she waited at the door to come back in.

I don't like the thought either, I've toyed with the idea of getting a hamster or similar for dc but I don't like the thought of an animal stuck in a cage. Especially birds, its just wrong. I don't mind animals in bigger cages, like a proper pen for a bunny or Guinea pig.

Rabbits should never be kept in hutches even though Pets at Home know this they still sell them. We have a big purpose built home for our two rabbits. They can run around and get exercise and when they want peace they run inside a different enclosure. They seem happy and chilled.

I agree OP. We had the class Gerbils over the Easter holiday and I found it quite disturbing to see them in what was quite a big cage.

We have a cat - a miserable aloof thing - because the kids wanted a pet and I reckoned that this was the only animal that could be free to wander and come home when it wanted to.

Ratasha cute! I would do love my kids to have the joy of a pet, a hamster for example but I just know I would feel so guilty seeing it in it’s cage day after day. Obvs you can get it out and play with it for a while but you have to be careful with hamsters as they dart into the smallest places and can get inside the walls / up the chimney / under heavy furniture in a flash. Just wouldn’t be feasible to have the kids get it out all the time

I was given a rodent and it was, by default, nocturnal and hated humans, no prey animals want to be caged and handled badly, in terror, by people’s kids. Go to the cinema instead or something. I feel awful for making that creature endure a life it didn’t want. People who own prey animals and try to give it loads of space etc.are still making a frightened animal cope with their presence for their own entertainment.