Some people started to want a meerkat as a pet after they saw Meerkat Manor. Meerkats aren't real good at being a human pet since they need to be in a group with other meerkats and have big open spaces to travel in and look for food. Otherwise they get fat which is a problem zoos face and they are allowed to have a meerkat. There is an illegal pet trade that sales people meerkats.
Reason Not to Own a Meerkat[]
A baby meerkat trapped in a cage.
Meerkats live in groups and breed three times a year, so you will have too many if you allow them to breed.
Meerkats scent mark everything, so you house will smell and you wouldn't be able to have friends over and keep her meerkat a secret.
Meerkats eat their weight in bugs, so you have to spend a lot of money to feed just one meerkat.
Meerkats are an exotic animal and finding a vet will be difficult. If you meerkat gets sick there may be nothing you can do to help it.
Meerkats live in hot climates, if you live somewhere where it snows, you meerkat may died in the cold.
Meerkat are only native to Africa, to own a meerkat in the US you need a special permit and they will check on you and make sure none escape into the population and cause problems. Getting this permit is also difficult.
Sponser a Meerkat[]
Meerkats are better left in the wild anyways and you can always visit ones at zoos and some even let you sponsor or adopt one and then you are allowed to visit it and hold you meerkat you sponsor, but it will stay at the zoo. I think I would rather do that than own one and have it be unhappy. You would ahve to check your local zoo to see if they allow you to sponser or adopt meerkat They used different words but it means you can help out a meerkat and maybe visit it but never take it home. The zoo can take care of a meerkat and have the right vets for them. Then again you can always visit the ones at the Kalahari Meerkat Project.