Pets are animals that have been domesticated by a reasonable person and which he supports by providing them with shelter and food. They benefit him either as a source of material goods and services, or as companion animals that brighten up his leisure time. Most pets breed easily. By conducting breeding, a person can control their reproduction and the signs that they transmit to their offspring.
A few thousand years ago, ancient man took the first steps to tame wild animals in order to use them for his own purposes. And today it is already difficult to imagine our life without pets, as if they have always been faithful companions of people. Initially, man sought to get something valuable from animals, providing them with shelter and food. However, according to anthropology, in ancient times they also served as a source of aesthetic pleasure.
Some domestic animals (farm animals) bring direct material benefits to a person, for example, being a source of food (milk, meat), materials (wool, leather). Other animals (working cattle and service animals) benefit a person by performing work functions (cargo transportation, security, etc.).
The second big category is companion animals that occupy leisure time, give pleasure and with whom you can communicate. For urban residents, the concept of "pets" is more often associated with the second category, that is, with "pets (pets)". Many families who keep some animals at home note that these animals create comfort, soothe, relieve stress.
It should be borne in mind that animals of the same breed can often be used for different purposes. For example, someone breeds rabbits for harvesting meat and fur, and someone keeps a rabbit at home as a pet. Some waste products of the companion animal can be used as insignificant production raw materials. So, from a long-haired dog, as well as a cat or a rabbit, you can collect a certain amount of wool and use it to knit warm clothes for yourself or family members. Feathers of domestic birds are used for decorative crafts and fine art.
Pets can be kept in special rooms (barnyard, stable, doghouse), but they can also live directly in a person's house. Of those animals that live in the house, some are kept in cages, aquariums, terrariums and other "houses", while others (for example, cats, dogs, rabbits) are allowed to move freely around the room.
Pets in developed countries feed mainly on commercially created feeds from specially selected components. These are compound feeds for farm animals, cat or dog food. These feeds are not only convenient to use, but also provide the animal with all the necessary substances. However, for a number of domestic animals, in particular most amphibians and reptiles, such feeds are not suitable. Their diet at home should be as close to natural as possible. In addition to pets, there may be unwanted tenants in the house — house animals. They settle in or near a person's home without an invitation, bringing no benefit and sometimes causing a lot of harm. These are, for example, rats, mice, cockroaches, ants, cats. House animals are part of a larger group of synanthropic animals that live near human habitation.
Pets are descended from wild animals living in the wild. Many wild animals can be tamed, especially at a young age, and even kept at home. Sometimes it happens that wild animals are easily tamed, but hardly reproduce in captivity. But if tamed animals reproduce, then their offspring need to be tamed again.
Unlike wild animals tamed or kept in captivity, domestic animals tend to breed easily. In the case when such easy reproduction is desirable, fertility is spoken of as a positive quality. The offspring of domestic animals do not need to be tamed — the characteristic features that make an animal domestic are fixed in the genes and are inherited. This genetic set was formed in the process of breeding, which people have been carrying out for centuries.
The number of species of domestic animals is relatively small relative to the total number of species in the animal world. So, there are more than two thousand species of mammals in the world, and there are only about 40 species of domestic animals. If you remove from the list of pets such organisms as representatives of insects (bee, cochineal, two or three species of silkworm) and two species of fish (goldfish and carp, for more information in the section aquariums), then only 27 species of "real" pets will remain.
All domestic animals are included in the general biological classification along with their wild relatives:
Livestock, as a rule, belongs to the class of mammals, the order of artiodactyls and the suborder of ruminants. In the full sense, livestock, that is, animals whose existence fundamentally depends on a person and without which, in turn, it is difficult for a person to do without, no more than 7-8 species. These species have played a historical role in the development of culture. These include cow (or cattle), sheep, goat (small cattle), buffalo, dromedary, bactrian, llama, alpaca and reindeer. In Asia, the functions of the bull are performed by the banteng and gayal, and in Tibet by the yak. From non-ruminant artiodactyls, a pig belongs to livestock. Ungulate cattle — domestic horse, pony, donkey and mule.
Dog, cat, frette - predatory (Carnivora).
Rabbit - hare-like (Lagomorpha).
Guinea pig, mouse, decorative rodent rat (Rodentia).
The question of whether cats are fully domesticated remains open. They still retain the habits of their wild relatives, although they have been living next to humans for many thousands of years. Unlike dogs, they are not so strongly attached to a person, remaining independent. According to one point of view, for cats, coexistence next to humans is only an opportunity to live in good conditions while continuing to hunt birds and rodents. But there is an opinion that this proud animal, like a dog, is able to establish emotional contact with its owner and feel a sense of affection.
Domestic birds are classified as follows:
the order galliformes (Galliformes) — chicken, Turkey, Japanese quail, Guinea fowl, pheasant and peacock
squad waterfowl (Anseriformes) — mute Swan, goose, duck and Muscovy duck,
the order columbiformes (Columbiformes) — dove gray and Turkish
the group of passerine birds (Passeriformes) — Canary,
squad psittaciformes (Psittaciformes) — budgie.
Since the XIX century, domesticated ostriches have been bred in Africa, and then in Asia, Europe and North America, which belong to the order of ostrich-like (Struthioniformes)
Supporters of the animal rights movement believe that a person should not kill animals in order to use meat and skins. Some vegetarians (vegans) in addition to meat also do not eat milk and eggs.
Not all of the animals listed here are equally domesticated. Farm animals are the most domesticated. They have a highly developed ability to adapt (with human assistance) to a variety of external conditions. For example, they can endure extreme cold and heat and eat food, not only given by nature itself, but also prepared artificially. Such properties are possessed by a cow, a sheep, a horse and a pig, and therefore they are common on the farm. But there are also those that, such as buffalo, camel, reindeer, llama and alpaca (paco), live only in certain areas — in very cold, or in hot strips of Asia and Africa or on the high mountains of Peru.
Pets are of great benefit to humans: they are a source of food (dairy products, meat, fat, eggs), raw materials for making clothes, shoes, carry heavy loads and help to perform agricultural work, as well as security, communication and other tasks (dogs, cats, some birds). Insects allow you to get useful products: honey, raw materials for the manufacture of silk. Microorganisms (along with fungi and plants) are an essential resource of the pharmaceutical industry.
Sometimes animals are kept for pleasure and entertainment: insects, reptiles, birds, mammals.
