Cultural Discussion - Pets

Cultural Discussion - Pets

Do you have a pet now? Why? Why not?

Do you like animals? Why? Why not?

Your Pet History:

Did you have pets when you were a child? If so, talk about every kind of pet you had. Be sure to talk about each pet's:

• name (give it in Japanese then give the English translation)
• color
• breed/type
• good points
• bad points

Rate the Types of Pets:

Here are some types of animals. Rate each pet from 1 to 5 in terms of how good a pet it would be. The "worst" score is "1" (not a good pet) and the "best" score is "5" (a very good pet).

1. cat
2. dog
3. bird
4. snake
5. hamster
6. ferret

• Which of the animals above is the hardest to take care of?
• Which is the most expensive to buy?
• Which is the most expensive to care for?
• Which are the noisiest and quietest?
• Which are the cleanest and dirtiest?
• What kind of animals make the best pets?
• What kind of animals make the worst ones?
  

Domesticated Animals:

Animals that have been "domesticated" live comfortably with humans. They are no longer "wild" and are usually safe to be around. Domesticated animals live in people's homes or on farms for the most part. Cats and dogs are a few examples of domesticated animals.

What are some other usual domesticated animals?

Wild Animals:

"Wild" animals do not live with people or only live with people in rare cases. Wild animals can usually be seen in zoos though not all of them are large or interesting enough to be put in zoos. Lions, squirrels and bears are a few examples of wild animals.

What wild animals are in Japan?

Some animals are both domesticated and wild. For example, there are wild mice but there are also domesticated mice that people keep as pets.

Domesticated, Wild, or Both?

Look at the pictures below. Say the name of each animal and whether or not it is wild or domesticated.

Click this small preview for a larger version. These photos are from the Hemera Photo collection and are used here in accord with the royalty-free nature of the licensing agreement but they may not be copied and used for other purposes.

If you don't know the names of the animals, use the list of words below to help you:
rabbit, eagle, hamster, elephant, snake, ferret, turtle

Are there any animals that should not be kept as pets? Why?

Wild Animals as Pets:

More and more wild animals are being domesticated and kept as pets. In fact, some wild animals are being bred (繁殖するため) with domesticated animals creating hybrid (ハイブリッド) animals that are at least a little wild. Domesticated cats, for example, are bred with wild cats to make a bigger cat.

Do you think it is a good idea to try and domesticate wild animals and keep them as pets? Why? Why not?

Do you think it is a good idea to breed wild animals with domesticated animals? Why? Why not?

Cultural Differences in Pets and Domesticated Animals:

Different cultures tend to keep different animals as pets or at least to domesticate them. For example, in India, elephants are sometimes domesticated.

Are there any pets that are common in Japan but are not common in other countries?