Im againts zoos

[Selene Moon]

You know of zoos. They claim they protect animals, but in reality they don't. They just take endangered animals and put them in small cages. You think thye like it there? Alright. Set them free from the cage. They'd be trying to find a way out rather than stay there. They have no future in zoos. I went to the zoo last weekend. They put a LYNX in a rabbit hutch! The only way he can run is by running in small circles! And there was a zoo that had huskies instead of actual wolves. Last month or so, people broke into the zoo and killed two baby giraffes. Protection, eh? I call it prision.

[draf]

How well animals are cared for in zoos (such as the size of their enclosures and level of enrichment) varies across facilities. The quality of life for the animals is directly related to the amount of funding the zoos receive or can raise. Most zoos are private facilities, so they're run like small businesses. I don't agree with zoos that inbreed species to obtain a rare colour at the expense of the population's health, but not all zoos have such unethical practices. (Zoos that receive subsidies from their goverments, for example, are better able to avoid these practices, since they're not as dependent on visitors to bring in money.)
I think zoos play an important part in conservation. There are several species that have gone extinct in the wild but have been successfully reintroduced from captive populations (like black-footed ferrets and Przewalski horses). I'd argue that the suffering of some individuals in poorly-maintained zoos is a small price to pay for the continued existance of a species. That said, I think there should be stricter regulations on how zoos are designed and maintained, as well as stricter oversight of breeding programs, to improve the quality of life of captive animals.

[Saracirce]

I agree with Draf.

You also shouldn't judge zoos based on the criminal acts of people who are not even associated with the zoo. The people who broke into the zoo and killed those babies were incredibly wrong. But no species on the planet is exempt from the possibility of being killed or tortured by the jerks who think it's 'fun' to harm innocent animals. The most common example of this is the dogs and cats who are tortured and abused for no good reason. I'm sure the people who run the zoo are completely devastated at the loss of their baby giraffes. Most of the zoo keepers at the GOOD zoos actually care deeply about the animals that are in their care and want the best for them.

[Imvula]

Care depends on the zoo and the people who work there. I have been to many zoos where the animals get better care than the children with cancer in hospitals. Truth be told, a zoo animal stands no chance in the wild once you set it free. When releasing an animal that's too used to human company into the wild, it can cause a lot of problems. They often approach people who might not be so keen on having them in close proximity. Yes zoos could probably do more to enrich the animals' lives.

Truth is, an animal in the wild suffers 10x more than one in captivity. If a female rejects her offspring, there is no kind human that will take care of it. Instead it will die of starvation and exposure or will be eaten alive. An injury to a predator almost always ends in death, and if it does so happen to survive it will struggle to hunt. And those predators that struggle hunt turn to easy prey such as livestock and yes, humans. This article should explain what I am trying to get at.

[Selene Moon]

Good point .3.

[Grimace]

Zoos are amazingly helpful. Most zoos do keep endangered animals, but they almost always are used in breeding projects and etc, which helps the future of the species. There are a bunch of species that wouldn't even be around right now if it wasn't for zoos.

There are some horrible horrible zoos, but if it is managed properly the good ones are a huge benefit to the animals.

[Saracirce]

The Houston Zoo, which is my favorite, is actually helping many, many species to come back or be preserved. They're my favorite because their facilities are great, I've been there myself and because I think they're doing amazing things with helping to educate the public on wild animals/different animal species.

http://www.houstonzoo.org/conservation/

That's just one zoo helping to save all of those animals and in a joint effort with other zoo, aquariums, and conservation facilities. They're also helping to save a habitat (coastal prairies).

[Selene Moon]

the topic I was refering to bad zoos. the titling is wrong though

[blueshadowmoon]

I support zoos for the reasons said above.

And there was a zoo that had huskies instead of actual wolves

Okay, so the zoo has huskies and not wolves, so? I see no problem with that. The huskies are domesticated and won't attack people that go into the enclosure and they're cheaper to get than wolves so they can focus on providing food for their animals. It's safer and less expensive.

Last month or so, people broke into the zoo and killed two baby giraffes. Protection, eh? I call it prision.

I will use one thing as an example for you, it can be applies to giraffe or any endangered animal breeding program really. A breeding program for the California condor has to have fences taller than a three story house and barbed wire on top of it not to keep the birds in, but it's to keep people out. If they didn't then they will be killed since a lot of people don't want a species that's going extinct because of people to be out there because 'if it can't survive on it's own it shouldn't live.' The zoo is probably devastated that the giraffes are dead and are probably trying to make it safer for the animals so they can prevent something like that from happening again. They are also going to be trying to track down the sick people that killed them.

There's a zoo on top of a mountain a few hours away from where I live. They have wonderful enclosures and those animals are pampered. None of them are overweight and they all are given a lot of love from the zoo keepers. A female tiger had cubs and rejected one, they got a lioness to raise it. That's only possible where people can take care of the animals. It is a wonderful zoo for humans and animals, they have over a mile just for grazing herbivores. No, they don't have any wolves or any birds of prey because they spend their money on pampering the species they have. If you tease an animal in their zoo you will be kicked out of it, they love all their animals no matter the species.

Just like circuses not all of them are bad. Yes, some are, but that doesn't mean all of them are. It used to be that a zoo was where a male lion for example was in a very small cage where he could only pace and people yelled at him because of all the movies that were about male lions being greedy creatures. Now if you do that you can get kicked out of a zoo and if a zoo keeps a lion in that small of a space it could be cruelty depending on where you live. Things have changed, people now understand animals and are trying to understand them. I would much rather see a Bengal tiger in a zoo than in someone's apartment (yes, someone did try) for example, wouldn't you?

[Selene Moon]

Wolves dont attack people either.

and also ther eshould've ben security.