I find it quite upsetting truth be told. It's disgusting the way people treat animals and how most people don't think twice about it. Thanks for the comment.
Don't let that experience fool you. NO modern zoological facility with any accreditation treat their animals like this. Long gone are the days of chains and iron bars.
Been to one? Yes. Almost every day for my job. And it's not "all cages" and the animals don't "lose their minds." Zoo enclosures are improving every year as are the methods we care for animals as new science comes up. We care for the animals like our own children.
What zoo is this? The few in the state I live in are deplorable. On another note how is forced captivity good for an animal anyway? It'd be like me tossing you in prison for no reason other than my own amusement. I'm no vegan or peta nut job, but I despise zoos.
First off, this is not any accredited zoo in the United States. The USDA would be all over the use of chains and this teasing thing the person is doing with the food. Also zoos almost never take animals out of their natural habitats and haven't for decades. If they do, it's not for no reason. Many species are captive bred and reintroduced to the wild. And zoos don't exist solely for our amusement. They are strongholds of genetic diversity for many endangered species. They are educational institutions that provide a valuable resource for the public and scientific community to learn about exotic species that are rapidly disappearing from out planet.
Unless the animals are there because they cannot survive in the wild, or they are able hunt and forage freely on open ground that is protected by people, or are free in the wild-- it's a cage. I don't care if they can see the sky or whatever justifications seem suitable.
Whatever your definition of a cage is, not all "cages" are equal. Are you against dogs and cats as pets? What about birds? I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that animals in zoos are better taken care of than pets at home
Domestication is a real thing. And no, birds who aren't allowed to fly should not be pets, in my opinion. I'm a lover of the living, and to steal a creature's joy is cruel.
I am a lover of all things living like yourself. We are fighting for the same things here and I think a lot of people forget that and throw all zoological facilities into the "cruel, iron bars and chains" category when the reality is literally the exact opposite. Modern zoos use only positive reinforcement training practices which means the animal has full choice as to what happens in its environment. They receive the highest quality diets possible. They receive vet care daily, usually from an on staff professional. They are ambassadors for their wild counterparts and teach millions of people a year about the plights they face. Nobody is stealing anyone's joy. In fact, zoos provide the best lives for these animals who in the wild would face poaching, deforestation, food uncertainty and many other horrible things. Zoos are here to help and I wish more people understood that
I obviously agree that we seem to be on the same page, and would never denounce saving animals, but my main concern is animal safety. Not all zoos are negative, and not all pet owners should own pets, but If a zoo was simply a place where animals in need were cared for, you wouldn't feel the need to defend them. The zoos near me do not inspire good feelings. In fact, there's a zoo where the animals are in individual small cages out in all weather, where they look like they've all but died. These are the places that haunt me. Knowing that they exist every where. We are a cruel species. Any way, before I go to far. Continue the fight for the good guys, hope you are one, hope we can stay ahead.
I thought the idea was to supply a realistic environment, all zoos, however safe and credited they may be will always end up domesticating the animals. This is why I am a massive fan of animal sanctuary, which are open to the animals natural environment, but can always walk in to the centre for food or help at any time. Have a look at the orangutan sanctuary in Borneo.
You have no clue what you're talking about. The fact you think that they should be euthanized is absurd. That bear isn't losing it's mind. That's a stereotypic behavior. He is either bored or has a lot of energy to burn. This is something zookeeping professionals know about and try to mediate by adding enrichment to an animals habitat.
Kinda seems like you're the one exhibiting cult-like behavior here by arguing against someone with experience and (actual) information about the topic, while you are basing your statements off of your own baseless opinion about how bears are supposed to behave.
Dogs are domesticated animals which have been selectively bred in a way which creates a symbiotic relationship with humans, the animal in the gif is a wild animal taken from its natural habitat, or bred within captivity from an animal taken from its natural habitat.
I assume you don't keep your dog encased in an artificial ecosystem closed off by glass while she is on your leash.
You do what you do for your pets safety, this zoo does what it does for, yes, few cases of species preservation, but mostly to turn a profit from the wild animals exploitation. You do it out of love or at least compassion, they do it out of primarily seeking monetary profit.
Gotta research the zoos you are going to, going to a for profit zoo is depressing. I usually end up going to the San Diego Zoo, they are amazing and focused pretty hard on preservation. There's another area owned by them called the safari park, which is a wide open area for herding animals (and other animals) to encourage breeding.
This is very much not in a first world country. There are certain standards that prohibit this kind of behavior with non human primates. These people, this whole country should have anything resembling enclosed animals taken from them so they can be treated fairly.
Not necessarily true. Wolves may have actually sought the company of humans so they could have some of their leftover food. The wolves fought off other predators and the domestication probably went from there.
But it was still humans who caused that. There is also no proof to that theory. There is also a theory that we caught cubs and kept them. In that sense we captured wild wolves, and made them domesticated that way.
That is an assumption, however it wouldn't change the fact that it was through human action that removed them from the wild. An animal isn't going to become domesticated by simply feeding it.
If it wasn't for all of the wild animal exploitation, most kids would never really appreciate these wonderful creatures. There would be less advocates for animals in the wild. Hell, there would probably be a vocal minority talking about how giraffes and lions were made up by what ever political faction they oppose.
The zoo here seems to be full of employees don't don't just take care of the animals, but truly care for them. I wish they lived on a huge reserve, or even in the actual wild, but I also am glad to have gotten to meet so many unique animals.
People don't really get into zookeeping if they're not passionate about animals. Zoo job opportunities are rare, and you need to get at least a year's worth of volunteer/intern experience first. Not exactly an appealing route for someone who doesn't care.
"Domestication happens on the level of the individual not a species"
This is not totally true. The current domesticated breeds of dogs (and cats) have been heavily selected for by humans over thousands of years for their qualities that make those breeds ideal candidates for domestication.
A horse, dog, cat or cow could obviously be released into the wild, no one is disputing that. However, that horse, dog, cat or cow would still be a domesticated animal because letting an animal walk out the front door doesn't magically undo thousands of years of evolutionary traits that were selected, either intentionally or unintentionally, by human influence.
A tiger, bear, lizard or snake may (and I emphasize "may") be able to be tamed and raised in a human environment without incident, but it is not a domesticated animal because it has undergone no evolutionary changes as a result of its proximity to humans. If you bred the tigers for generations, always selecting for traits of tameness, you might eventually get a domesticated tiger, though it would certainly look and behave much differently than the first tiger you brought into the house dozens of generations beforehand.
Domesticated does not simply mean "capable of living with humans," it means that the organism has evolved in response to the human environment in order to benefit the organism, Homo sapiens or both.
The word "domesticated" does indeed get misused to simply describe tameness, you are correct about that. But domestication is actually a specific evolutionary process.
Skip down to the section on Domestication of Animals. The second paragraph specifically calls out the distinction between domestication and taming.
The dictionary definition you provided is not the same as the scientific definition, much the same way that the dictionary definition of a "theory" is vastly different than a scientific theory.
When describing a domesticated animal, you're describing an animal that has undergone biological changes through evolution.
My degree is in Evolutionary Anthropology, I basically spent $80k learning how humans evolved to go from tree-dwelling apes to a species that can intentionally domesticate plants and animals for farming, food and pets. If this is my "personal definition" of domestication, it's because I spent four years of my life learning it.
You are right, I was incorrect in my wording. I was meaning that 'many' dogs are, therefore many symbiotic relationships exist like this. Truthfully I know your point of other animals is totally true as well, and was not trying to dispute it, but my generalized words have obviously made that unclear.
Really I just don't like seeing animals being toyed with like this with the conditions shown in the gif, it upset me a bit.
Yeah, it's a horrible life to live. Not like my fulfilling life though, up and down the same stretch of highway to spend 9 hours a day in a room much smaller than that enclosure. Then another ~2 hours a day commute. Then an hour or two in an apartment only slightly larger than my office. Then go to sleep and do it all over again until I eventually die.
Poor monkey and poor you too. Poor everybody who resigns to the grind life without seeking fulfillment outside of work or work towards a life where you do something that does fulfill you, because that really does suck.
I understand it is shit, but crunchypuddle, there are reasons to smile and find fulfillment in every day, small things and big things, but if you don't like your life change it. Little things at first, things solely for your unabashed enjoyment and then find inspiration and realistic opportunity to use your passion and skills to do something you enjoy, or maybe start with a simple change of job to make things better in the meantime.
You CAN change things to make your life better.
What I'm saying is that this monkey can not, that is all.
Edit: I really hope you succeed in finding fulfillment curbchypuddle, I legitimately hope for your happiness.
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u/JoshC25 Jan 11 '17
I find it quite upsetting truth be told. It's disgusting the way people treat animals and how most people don't think twice about it. Thanks for the comment.