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Zoos and other things like it are akin to animal abuse. And this is coming from someone that's not an animal lover. I don't understand why or how we confine wild beast to a cage for our own enjoyment.
Another person killed by an animal that should be in the wild. What is the purpose of keeping wild animals in captivity? Can't we move past this primitive practice? Zoos became popular because most people would never get a chance to see these exotic animals. Now with all the video footage, Discovery Channel, ect....why not just close the Zoos and leave the animals in the wild where they belong?
Have you ever seen a live Tiger? No video can do this majestic animal justice.
Have you ever touched an elephant? Looked into its eyes? No video can ever convey the intelligence behind those eyes.
In some cases Zoos protect endangered species.
I travel and have seen Tigers and elephants in Thailand. Not all people have my means.
Zoos and other things like it are akin to animal abuse. And this is coming from someone that's not an animal lover. I don't understand why or how we confine wild beast to a cage for our own enjoyment.
Not all zoos reflect what you describe. As I said before many cases Zoos protect a species that is endangered.
How lovely that your daughter got to "spend 5 weeks in the wilds of Kenya" ..... not many people get to do that. For those that don't get to go on these wonderful trips to see animals in the wild, they support Zoos that work to study these animals in hopes of saving the Threatened species like the Siberian Tiger.
Many species have been brought back from the brink of extinction with conservation work. I can see why your daughter might have any idea about that . Did your daughter tell you about the worry that Elephants in Kenya may only have about 10 years before they are all gone?
Kenya's elephants may vanish in 10 years, warns prominent naturalist - and that's just from the poachers - they are also losing habitat. The "wild" is not nearly so romantic as some of the young believe. The activists are everywhere - too bad so many of them wear blinders to realities. Many species are threatened - the modern, well run zoo is a laboratory for those who study these issues, the joy of seeing them and learning to love them is now almost a sideline to the work the scientists and doctors do.
So the animals have to pay this price by living a life in a cage? Nice value system.
Another person killed by an animal that should be in the wild. What is the purpose of keeping wild animals in captivity? Can't we move past this primitive practice? Zoos became popular because most people would never get a chance to see these exotic animals. Now with all the video footage, Discovery Channel, ect....why not just close the Zoos and leave the animals in the wild where they belong?
What is the purpose of live animal zoos? Apparently far more than you imagine.
1. Research. Without live animal zoos, we would have less than half of the knowledge which we have about wild animals. Don't let the visitor area fool you, many zoos put more resources into research than they do into visitor comfort.
2. Education. Claiming that a video of an animal is just the same as seeing the animal live is silly. There is nothing that compares with the first time you come face to face with a live giraffe, elephant, or lion. Videos shown on television might as well be cartoons for the majority of children who have been raised in a world where being constantly bombarded by 250 channels is the norm. Take a child on a trip to the zoo and watch their reactions. Unless you have a heart three sizes too small, you'll be overwhelmed.
3. Conservation. Without zoos, we'd be talking about a lot more extinct animals than we currently do. As an example, the St. Louis Zoo (which is the best free zoo in the United States, if not the world) spends millions each year studying the reproduction of a host of different species, and has contributed greatly toward the efforts at not only maintaining wild populations, but also toward reintroducing species to areas where they had previously died off.
So the animals have to pay this price by living a life in a cage? Nice value system.
Sure ..... some people like science and endangered species efforts and some are fond of poachers.
I tend to go with the science angle, but to each his own.
She also noticed that elephants in the wild morn their dead and have a ritual funeral...We do not give animals the credit of being thinking beings...They do think and they KNOW...just like us if they are free or not...I believe in well protected wild areas where animals can roam...but not zoos.
Agreed. Also, zoos are artificial environments principally for the purpose of education which I consider to be acceptable. But in order to really appreciate animals, in general, one has to see them in their natural environment.
Zoos and other things like it are akin to animal abuse. And this is coming from someone that's not an animal lover. I don't understand why or how we confine wild beast to a cage for our own enjoyment.
Have you been to a zoo lately? They're not in cages any more. Not at the good zoos, anyway. Maybe Bubba has some illegal wildlife in cages behind the barn.
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