Meerkats are increasingly acquired as exotic pets in Europe and the UK, causing welfare harm to these intensely social animals.
Pet meerkats experience chronic welfare deficits from social deprivation. Their mob structure requires many individuals to function properly — sentinels cannot rotate, pups cannot be communally raised, and subordinates cannot find their social role without a full group. Stress-related aggression towards owners increases as meerkats mature. Their burrowing needs and desert-adapted thermoregulation cannot be met in typical home environments. The charming characters seen on TV documentaries are living in a complex social world that pet ownership destroys.