I agree that owning a wolf, bear, large cat etc is a bad idea. These animals, while they can be "tamed" still have wild instincts and can be quite dangerous to people who don't know what they are doing with them. Also, a lot of these animals have cirtian diatary needs that people either A can't afford or B don't know/care about them or C a combination of both, resulting in the animal suffering from poor heath conditions. Too, a lot of these animals are BIG critters that need a lot of space that owners cannot/will not provide them.
Now, I believe that some people take the word exotic too far. In some states, it's illigal to own/breed cirtan reptiles...reptiles that have been domesticated and breed redily in captivity. Some mutations dont even occur in the wild, yet it is illigal to own them. These reptiles are usually confiscated and put into zoos(rare) or killed. Some people want to ban owning of ANY reptile, which I can't see as being a reasonable solution. I bring up reptiles because usually the whole banning of exotics centers around our scaley companions. Rarely is the focus put on the animals that truely need to be free, like that black bear in the story.