How do you feel about zoos?

Question

I realize that there are vegetarians and vegans here for other than for animal rights. How do you feel about zoos. I mean at my zoo when you go on the tours they tell you about a lot of the animals and it seams like a lot of them are rescued. They also have the wolfs breading there because they are going to die out.

Answer 1

On one hand, they do rescue alot of endangered species and remove them from the endangered species list; on the other hand, it's cruel to lock them up.

Answer 2

Personally they don't bother me.  Many of the animals there are endangered and likely wouldn't survive in the wild.  At least in the zoo they are given a good chance at life and breeding.  It's a toss up since in the wild they would have more space to roam, but they might not survive.

Answer 3

As a vegan of course I am against zoos, that is what veganism about, using, abusing, mistreating animals for any purpose which includes entertainment and enslavement that zoos and circuses possess. The animals are not rescued they are captured or breed. They are holding captive and abusing animals. If they weren't I would not have a problem with them.

Some links:

http://www.mercyforanimals.org/zoos.asp

http://youtube.com/user/ivorynightfall

Answer 4

I live in Ohio and in my city, we have one of the best zoos in the country (so I've heard).

I don't patronize it because I think that it is exploiting animals. They are stuffed in small spaces that barely resemble their natural habitat.

If they were born in captivity, I think it's a great injustice to them as they have natural instincts that they will never be able to use.

Overall, zoos make me sad. Animals were NOT put on the Earth for man to manipulate, play with and train to entertain him. They have minds of their own as well as their own purpose in the wild. We should let them live peacefully.

Answer 5

I don't have a problem with good zoos. I think zoos help teach children to respect animals.

Answer 6

I have nothing against Zoos. Modern Zoos are much more sensitive to the needs of their animals than the carnivals of the past. They inspire interests in children that visit the parks who often themselves eventually may become interested in conservation and wildlife preservation. The few animals who are confined to the constraints of a zoo... overall may actually benefits the wildlife community from which they came just from this exposure to our children.

Some zoos also provide care and medical treatment for animals that are no longer able to care for themselves in the wild. Zoo's are usually major supporters to conservation and wildlife preservations efforts.

Answer 7

People who eat meat are the ones who are making animals endangered because more than 3 million chickens die every  year because of human food.

More than 4.5 million fishes die every year for human food.

Answer 8

yeah, they bug me a bit.  But I enjoy some of them because I like to see the animals.  I also enjoy having pet parakeet but feel a bit guilty that he can't fly around outside.  

Some zoos are so obviously disgusting that it makes me ill feeling (same with aquariums).  I know that some are "rescuing" the animals and need to put them on display in order to pay for the rescues and cost of up keep and to help raise awareness but that isn't what the zoo in like Central park is doing.  

So I guess I have mixed feelings about zoos.  The adult in me knows they aren't good but the kid in me likes the pretty animals.

Good question.

Answer 9

I think it is great what they do for those animals, they are protecting and taming them for survival, look back in the Egypt time they had tigers and snakes as pets, why can't we tame them today and have them as pets, I think it is good for the animals to be rescued for poachers and the slimming of land, as long as the zoo has the right cages and workers and environment to take care of them, then more power to them

Answer 10

It depends on the zoo, really. The Toronto Zoo is pretty good - they try hard to give animals "natural" habitats and enough space. Smaller zoos can be terrible, though; once I visited one where each cage was either tiny or close to the highway, where the animals would get scared by the cars.

There's a place near Montreal called the Ecomuseum where they rescue animals that would have died in the wild and raise them in their natural habitats. That is a very good zoo.

Answer 11

I agree with Clem. Most Zoos I don't have a problem with but some just don't have enough space and the animals are not in their natural climate. It also depends if the are in shows at the zoo and how they are trained for those (ex. I do not support the circus!) shows.

Answer 12

Now a days most zoo animals are rescued or born in captivity animals. They are like domesticated animals and couldn't survive in the wild. Some zoos are horrid places, but the good one's make every effort to care for the animals.