It's been a long time since I went to a zoo/aquarium, I've wanted to go again. I get excited to see wild animals with my daughter and see her face of wonder, but I feel a certain remorse. Although I am amazed by their majesty, I also feel bad for them when I see them locked up, limited, in a climate foreign to their nature, seeing birds behind bars when they should really be soaring through the skies, seeing giraffes, zebras and lions in four walls when they should really be running around in the sheets, monkeys behind locked windows. It's a bitter taste when I think about those things. It's a dream for me to go on a safari, at least there they are free. It's more exciting to see animals in their natural habitat than alone behind bars.
pull down to refresh
129 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 9h
Here: https://www.twitch.tv/leintalzoo - you can feed chimps in a zoo with sats!
Germany private zoo, super funny and you also support their efforts to rescue more animals.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 OP 8h
wow how amazing to see them live, I think I've heard about this before. Thanks for the info
reply
84 sats \ 7 replies \ @siggy47 9h
As a child I loved going to the zoo. I never thought about the implications. I also enjoyed taking my daughter when she was young. I think we tend to anthropomorphize what's best for animals, especially if we're libertarian! I always wondered what the animals would choose on their own. Safety and three squares a day, or the stress of finding food while dodging predators. I'm ambivalent.
reply
62 sats \ 5 replies \ @bief57 OP 9h
I also ask myself the same question, animals that were born in the zoo don't know anything else and releasing them into what should be their habitat would be counterproductive because they wouldn't know how to hunt and defend themselves. But what about animals that already know freedom and its consequences? When they are taken from their homes to be locked up just for our enjoyment. I get melancholic about this subject, it would be hypocritical of me to say that I haven't enjoyed going to zoos, but as an adult I have thought about these things.
reply
51 sats \ 1 reply \ @freetx 9h
I think the vast majority of animals you see in zoos were the results of captive breeding (ie. they weren't captured in wild).
That raises another question of - should we be doing that? Its really tough to answer....on one hand we now just have this entire lineage of captive animals...but on another for the animal thats already captive, shouldn't they get to become a mother also?
I think in the end as long as the animals are being treated well that is the most important thing.
reply
26 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 OP 9h
Yes, I suppose that most of the animals in zoos today were born in captivity and don't know anything else. This reminds me of the movie Madagascar. Alex the lion doesn't know how to hunt and he feels very good in the zoo because he is cared for and fed. You mentioned an important point, the treatment that animals receive in these places.
reply
21 sats \ 2 replies \ @siggy47 9h
Me too. I keep african cichlid fish in a large aquarium. These fish are from Lake Malawi in Africa. There are rare species that are kept by aquarists to prevent extinction, but mine are typically common, and always born in captivity. In fact, my fish breed and my tank stays stocked with juveniles. This has gone on for generations. Returning my fish to the wild would be an act of cruelty. The real question is whether it was right to capture and raise these fish in the first place.
reply
36 sats \ 1 reply \ @bief57 OP 9h
We need to investigate what their intention was in the first place. There are very good animal preservation places, where they protect them from hunters and save species from extinction and that is very good. On the other hand, there are exotic animal traffickers, it is a shame to think that everything becomes a profitable business and those who pay the consequences are them. I am anxious to see a post about your fish.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 8h
I have my cichlids indoors. Outside we have a small pond. With those outside fish I really feel I am doing the right thing. I went through the whole koi thing, but we live in a forested area not far from the ocean, so as soon as they get big they are targets for the herons and egrets. So, what I started doing was buying feeder fish from the local pet store. I get small, ugly goldfish and minnows. Since they are condemned to death as food for other captive fish, I buy lots of them every spring and toss them in the pond. They are very inexpensive. The fittest survive for three or four years, until they are big enough to serve as a meal for one of the predatory birds in the area.
reply
41 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 8h
I'm fairly ambivalent about this, as well, and there are obviously important differences in zoo/aquarium policies that make a huge difference.
If the animals have sufficient space to move around fairly naturally, it's probably fine. Also, when the animals have been rescued/rehabilitated from debilitating injuries, that's preferable to me than just leaving them to die.
reply
36 sats \ 0 replies \ @Lux 9h
reply
5 sats \ 1 reply \ @SevenOfNine 8h
Not all zoos are equal. Find and support zoos pushing the bar on ecological research, restoration and preservation.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 OP 7h
You are right about that, in the city where I live there are only 2 zoos, I'm going to check them out.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @7e6e393a56 6h
Zoos exist because of human stupidity. I know there are serious places, but that doesn't invalidate my previous premise. I am completely against the existence of these places, as long as there is monumental supervision and severely punishing people who engage in unscrupulous actions. But since I don't believe this will be done, it's better to have proven welcoming environments to care for these mistreated animals.
reply
0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Aardvark 7h
I'd be fine with closing the zoos. I don't think animals were meant to live behind bars.
reply