Do you support the zoo, the circus or the aquarium? (parent, son)
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I'm ok with zoos. I think most do some good work. Ideal? Nah, but not the devil.
We went to the circus once. Omg I was horrified. Never again!
Aquariums- local places with fish tanks, sure. Sea world. Nope. I knew it was wrong long before black fish. But I let my children watch it so they would stop asking to go. They stopped.
I've never liked animal circuses, to be honest I can't remember the last time I visited the circus. I think animal-free circuses would actually be more exciting.
BIG thanks, susankate! I've seen Cirque du Soleil and found it amazing. Will now lookup others you mention.
I totally get where you are coming from. I never took my kids to the circus, but we visited the St. Louis zoo and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago multiple times. Now that I know more about aquariums I won't go to those that keep sea mammals in captivity, that's just too much for me to think about. I loved seeing the belugas at Shedd, but no more. I have never and will never go to Sea World type places. I don't believe animals, especially intelligent mammals, should be removed from their environment or forcibly trained for entertainment.
As for zoos, I'm also on the fence like a lot of posters. I have always loved animals (wanted to be a vet when I was a kid) and I love being able to see them up close, but very few zoos actually give *all* the animals the space they need. The primate house at the St. Louis zoo makes me very sad.
No circuses for future kids here, and me and my husband only do the tropical/freshwater kind of aquariums, nothing with the very large ocean dwellers.
Now zoos, I love zoos and so does my husband. I'm sure we will take many zoo trips once we have kids. Seeing and learning about animals; exotic, endangered or even common can be a wonderful experience and all of the large city zoos have been expanding and reworking habitats to better suit the animals. Not to mention the conservation work that large zoos do.
The Houston zoo has some wonderful habitats and the new gorilla one is amazing. We were equally impressed with the Denver and Seattle zoos as well.
My local zoo is outdoors where the animals have an open area to wander. It's 600 acres, and the larger animals seem to do fine. No, they are not in the wild, but some of the species are endangered and/or extinct in the wild, so captive breeding programs are the only way to preserve them. The animals do not seem to be mistreated.
I think many (most?) major zoos have evolved greatly since I was a kid, and are more involved with real education and conservation. The ones we visit have habitats for the animals, not the sad empty cages I remember from my childhood. We do not visit traveling circuses (with animals) where the only intent is entertainment. There are some good aquariums (accredited much like the "good" zoos). Sea World is an entertainment venue and for profit. Not a fan.
OMGoodness, is there anything on the planet that does not offend someone?
I suppose the next thing that is unethical is going to be the sunrise.
There are many more important things to be offended by than animals in cages.
How about children in cages? Homeless? Mentally ill being thrown in jail instead of being treated properly? People starving on the streets of the USA? Unadopted children? Finding the cure for numerous diseases? Unethical politicians?
Do something to fix what is more important than animals.
OMGoodness, is there anything on the planet that does not offend someone?
I suppose the next thing that is unethical is going to be the sunrise.
There are many more important things to be offended by than animals in cages.
How about children in cages? Homeless? Mentally ill being thrown in jail instead of being treated properly? People starving on the streets of the USA? Unadopted children? Finding the cure for numerous diseases? Unethical politicians?
Do something to fix what is more important than animals.
People, at least the ones I know, are perfectly capable of being concerned about more than one thing at once.
I don't think I ever took my kids to a circus (it's a clown thing) but I remember going myself when I was young. Ringling was ok, but one of the B List ones upset me because of how a lion was on display. I don't remember the details but it's stuck in my mind for decades. I feel like it was in the back of a pickup truck or on a flat bed or something, and it didn't look well at all. As a kid I could pick on the fact that this just wasn't good.
I'm fortunate to live close to an excellent zoo and aquarium so I have gone to those many times (healthy looking lions...yay!) and took the kids as well. If I only saw animals in their natural habitat I wouldn't have seen most of them at all. I'm happy for zoo's that are well made because I think it's amazing that I get to.
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