I went to Youtube today, and I was surprised to see various films of wild animals like the fennec fox, caracal, and the makulu. They were displayed like they were ones average family pets. (I don't know anything about the last animal. I think it's some kind of wild cat.) I guess owning exotic animals is real trendy right now. Is it okay, or in some way irresponsible to own exotic animals as pets?

It's completely irresponsible to "own" exotic animals. TX allows it, for example, many other states do not, but still the law is broken over and over and over again.

It is irresponsible. They are wild animals, and thats where they belong, out in the wild. There are some that are generally acceptable as pets, leopard geckos, parakeets, lovebirds, other small birds and lizardes, but there are many that really shouldn't be in captivity. Larger lizards like monitors, big snakes like red tail boas and reticulated pythons, large parrots like coc katiels and macaws, wolf hybrids, other wild canines, bobcats, monkeys, gators....those shouldn't be treated as pets.

They are cute when they are little, but then they grow up and they become too much for people to handle and they end up abused or neglected. The average joe can barely handle a dog, you can only imagine how bad it would be with him trying to handle a huge, unpredictable animal in which little is known about their psychology and lifestyle.

The only reason I would agree with keeping exotic animals is to provide a home for those exotics that were rescued and obviously cannot ever be released. I have a few of those myself that I picked up here and there, a pair of iguanas and a sun conure.