spazmodeus
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:22:25 PM new
I just saw a report on the evening news about a baby polar bear being born at one of the nation's zoos and how zoo officials are excited because as an attraction it will bring in lots of business and also eventually serve as a replacement for the aging parents.
It leads me to ask, which is more cruel: an animal taken out of the wilderness and placed in a zoo, or an animal born in a zoo that will never know the wilderness?
Or do you think there's nothing wrong with either scenario?
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Powerhouse
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:27:29 PM new
This senario brings to mind the old adage - Tis far better to have love and lost, than never to have loved at all.
Whether this sentiment is correct depends on the person, I guess.
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kraftdinner
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:30:53 PM new
I think it's sad that there are zoos to begin with, because you don't know how that animal feels about living in captivity and having no choice.
I think while it's entertaining to be able to see wildlife "in person", with the advent of the internet, it seems to be less realistic.
All in all, I think animals deserve the best we can offer and zoos aren't the way to go about it IMHO.
What's your opinion spaz?
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spazmodeus
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:36:21 PM new
My opinion? You mean I have to have one? I thought it was the privilege of the thread originator to act as game show host -- you know, throw the question out there and let everyone else squabble over it, LOL.
Personally I think captive bred is the lesser of the two evils. As to the question of zoos themselves, they do strike me as prisons yet if not for zoos some kids would never in their lives see an elephant or a lion up close, and that too seems to me to be wrong.
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RainyBear
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:36:48 PM new
It's better for zoo animals to be born there. It's like raising kittens as indoor cats. If you adopt an adult cat who has been outdoors it's more difficult to keep that cat inside because he knows a broader world and he wants to go out into it. House cats who have always been house cats are happier inside because that's what they know.
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bunnicula
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:38:16 PM new
Unfortunately, for a growing number of animals, zoos are the only place they can exist. We humans have destroyed habitats or taken them over for our own use an an incredible rate. And the larger percentage of our kind firmly believe that all other species aren't as important as we are and *must* take second place to us. I, too prefer animals to be in the wild but that is growing increasingly more difficult.
Fortunately for animals living in zoos, the trend in the past 20 years is for zoos to provide larger & realistic enclosures, and to provide for the animals' mental well-being.
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RainyBear
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:38:44 PM new
Also... I like zoos where the habitats are created with lots of space for the animals and modeled after their natural habitats. I feel terrible seeing animals in small, fake-looking enclosures.
A couple of positives about zoos -- education and the preservation of endangered species.
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toke
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:39:57 PM new
I really, truly, despise zoos. I can think of few things more cruel. I find both scenarios totally unacceptable.
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spazmodeus
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:45:45 PM new
I can think of few things more cruel.
Pet stores.
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Julesy
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:50:18 PM new
No. The Circus is about as cruel as it gets.
The largest zoo near me, besides the teaching zoo at the community college here, is in Jacksonville, and the habitats they have constucted for their animals are atrocious. Think of two Cheetahs, kept in an area the size of your typical suburban backyard. The last time we were there, they looked lethargic and miserable. No more...if my kids want to go to the zoo, they will have to do it without me, when they get older.
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toke
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:50:58 PM new
Nope.
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spazmodeus
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posted on April 13, 2001 04:56:01 PM new
I have been to pet stores and found animals dead in their cages. In one disturbing instance several years ago I found a turtle so long neglected that it was dead, its eyes gone, just a couple empty sockets -- and the store didn't know till I called it to their attention.
The blessing in disguise, I suppose, is that it wasn't there for the long term as many animals in zoos are.
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toke
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posted on April 13, 2001 05:00:01 PM new
I'll agree about circuses...they're bad.
I think the most gruesome thing I've seen in recent memory was the Brockton Fair...and it's elephant rides.
You know how they are made to go around and around and around in a tiny circle with hordes of screaming kids on their backs? One of the sorriest sights I've ever seen. I'll never forget the low-life jerk in charge, continually poking that poor creature to make it go. It just kept stopping...eyes glazed.
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xifene
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posted on April 13, 2001 05:03:22 PM new
The teaching zoo near Julsey is one of the few zoo-like places I can enjoy. Most of the animals there had been (its been a while and I can't speak to their practices now) rescued -- damaged in ways that made their survival in the wild far less likely.
But a recent visit to a Nature Center here reminded me why I hate zoos -- two cougars in a cage smaller than my own bedroom -- large predatory birds in cages no taller than 10 feet, no wider than 10 feet either. How people who care for animals could bear to keep them as these were kept is beyond me.
I won't go to the Jacksonville zoo either; its one of the worst examples of zoos I've seen. Miami -- pre-Andrew -- had one of the "best". It was more like the people were caged than the animals.
--xifene--
http://www.auctionusers.org
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toke
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posted on April 13, 2001 05:11:47 PM new
Spaz...
That must have been awful. I've never seen a pet store that bad...where they didn't even notice a dead animal.
There's a hotel in Spokane Wa. I used to go to as a child...just to run around and cause trouble with friends... They had parakeets hanging in cages in the lobby. One day I stopped and looked closely at them...and screamed. One of the managers came running over to shut me up...natch. I pointed out to him that his birds would soon be dead if he didn't trim their beaks. They were so overgrown they almost curved into their necks. To this day, I don't know how they ate their seed. Unbelievable that no adult ever noticed...or maybe that they never cared?
Anyway...they had them trimmed, and all was well.
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Julesy
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posted on April 13, 2001 05:17:14 PM new
Hi Jen -- Santa Fe has kept to that high standard. You still see the peacocks and vultures roaming freely, and the two bald eagles, one blind, and one missing a wing, going at it like bunny rabbits.  Some of the larger zoos could learn a thing or two from Santa Fe.
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ConnieM
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posted on April 13, 2001 10:47:03 PM new
Along the lines of pet stores, you have to go to the source of the problem.
Ever seen a puppy mill?
Please adopt from your local shelter or rescue group.
As for zoos, here in the DFW area, we are fortuante to have 2 wonderful zoos. They both do so much for educating the community, especially the younger generation. While it isn't as perfect as all these beautiful creatures in their natural environment, the animals will never be poached, or starved due to loss of environment. And the kids are learning what they must do to change things for our roommates on the planet.
Don't get me started on circuses...freaking evil.
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