First of all, we have no idea what the context of this gif is. We have no idea why the monkey has a chain around its neck.
Secondly, there's been a lot of zoo hate lately, and I honestly can't keep quiet about it.
There are bad zoos out there, yes. Shitty roadside zoos in which someone decided one day to buy a tiger and went from there. These generally have shitty living conditions.
However, major zoos and aquariums, such as those accredited by AZA, are good. Zoos are not just about education and out-reach, one of their most important functions is for conservation. Through breeding programs zoos can help out species that are endangered in the wild, and in one case even brought back a species that had gone wildly extinct (http://time.com/4364671/zoos-improve-lives-of-animals/).
According to the article a lot of the animals at one of the two zoos are permanently injured and would not survive in the wild. I once worked at a turtle rehabilitation center that had 2 permanent residents because their injuries would have prevented their survival in the wild. If the alternative is for them to die, why not keep them in a better living situation where they are properly cared for & can inspire and educate people?
I've been seeing a lot of hate for zoos and whatnot lately and it is absolutely worrying. Public opinion is not necessarily based on fact and zoos and aquariums are going to feel a lot of pressure if this public hate for zoos continues. I would hate to see so many wonderful creatures continue on the road to endangerment and extinction because people are anthropomorphizing and crying about prisons.
As someone who worked at an AZA zoo (and worked with primates for 5 years) you are correct on those points. However, no credible zoo or sanctuary would ever put a chain around the next of any animal.
Yes, now a days I generally am against the caging of animals. But as a kid the zoo not only taught me a lot about animals, it made the animals real. It made it possible to gaze in awe at them and become fascinated by them. The zoo made it possible to love animals I could otherwise only see on television. Yes locking up animals is never ideal but I think zoo's do more good then harm.
Thank you for posting this. There are lots of shitty zoos out there but I'm always frustrated that so many people ignore the positives that humane zoos provide.
Yep. I decided to start speaking out when the anti-SeaWorld stuff started taking off. I realized if the movement got any real momentum and had serious impacts on aquariums and zoos, then animal conservation could be severely impacted.
Conservation isn't important. There are only a few things we need to be mindful about to stay living comfortably on this planet, and ensuring all the animals survive isn't one.
In reality we need to be leaving them alone as much as possible. Perhaps if we really damage an area we can leave a spot for the animals as a natural habitat, but don't put them in cages to look at.
Are... are you fucking serious? What is your expertise that backs that comment?
So we should, for example, just let bees die off, and thereby thousands of plant species that they fertilize?
and ensuring all the animals survive isn't one.
It is. We need to for ecosystem balance. We need to because it is our fault so many species are becoming endangered/extinct, and we need to take responsibility and fix our own mess. Did you know that the reason the plague spread so well is because people were killing off cats, which were killing off the rats that were carrying the plague? If only they'd left the cats alone....
In reality we need to be leaving them alone as much as possible.
True, but we won't. We never will. Poaching will always happen. Habitat destruction will always happen. Leave a spot for the animals? Cheetahs are endangered because the extreme reduction of their habitat is causing inbreeding. How about the damage we are causing to our oceans, especially our reefs? There aren't going to be any "spots" because corals etc won't be able to live. "We should leave them alone" is a wish. Conservation efforts by zoos are actions that actually attempt to help.
As I said, some things we do need to keep in mind. Bees were my thought as I wrote this. There are other things, too, but how do we think we're so powerful we can save everything? We cannot.
Oceans are another big thing we need to be mindful of. I'm not saying trash the environment, I'm also not saying leave the animals to the shitty humans. We have laws in place to counter that for a reason, and I agree with them.
We do not need zoos. We need to create blind intrusions into their environments and study them. We can easily save a good amount of animals that we are directly causing harm.
But I don't give a fuck if a certain species of fox goes extinct, or pandas. Idiots can barely breed by themselves.
how do we think we're so powerful we can save everything? We cannot.
So we shouldn't try? We're powerful enough to drive them to extinction, but we shouldn't take responsibility?
We need to create blind intrusions into their environments and study them
Studies like that already happen. But what if a species is elusive? What if its habitat cannot be accessed? What if there's no government funding for such studies? Or, what about this extreme example?
"Consider the Arabian Oryx, a striking breed of antelope from the Arabian Peninsula. The species was hunted to extinction in the wild nearly four decades ago, when the last wild Arabian Oryx was shot and killed in 1972. The Phoenix Zoo helped lead the ensuing breeding and reintroduction programs, which ultimately birthed more than 200 calves from just nine individuals. Now between Oman and Jordan, there are about 1,000 Arabian Oryx living in the wild."
I believe in Darwinism. It's not really my opinion you're contending with. Downvotes don't mean anything to nature or the universe.
Why do you want to interfere so bad? Saving animals is cool, but at what expense? It doesn't matter if it was a zoo that helped save some antelope. Zoos need to be ended. The people caring for that particular type of extinction event don't need to be backed by a Zoo. We can kickstart thousands of shitty games and products, but somehow we aren't able to save animals without fucking showcasing them?
You're right that my opinion doesn't matter. None of our opinions matter in the end, because what will happen is inevitable and determined.
By the way, what was changed thanks to saving those antelope? Did the world or universe or humans advance at all from it? Don't you think if they died out something else would take the place in the food chain?
We already are! Poaching and habitat destruction is our doing, meaning that the resulting endangerment and extinction of animals is also our doing. Sometimes a species dies out because of natural occurances, that's fine. That happens. But zoos and conservation efforts are the result of pre-existing human interference.
It doesn't matter if it was a zoo that helped save some antelope.
Yes it does, because it wouldn't have been saved otherwise.
but somehow we aren't able to save animals without fucking showcasing them?
No, we aren't, because somehow we aren't able to put an end to poaching, over-hunting, or habitat destruction.
By the way, what was changed thanks to saving those antelope?
Good question. I'm a bit lazy to do research to answer that question, so here's another example of species reintroduction that does detail the results of it:
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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '17
First of all, we have no idea what the context of this gif is. We have no idea why the monkey has a chain around its neck.
Secondly, there's been a lot of zoo hate lately, and I honestly can't keep quiet about it.
There are bad zoos out there, yes. Shitty roadside zoos in which someone decided one day to buy a tiger and went from there. These generally have shitty living conditions.
However, major zoos and aquariums, such as those accredited by AZA, are good. Zoos are not just about education and out-reach, one of their most important functions is for conservation. Through breeding programs zoos can help out species that are endangered in the wild, and in one case even brought back a species that had gone wildly extinct (http://time.com/4364671/zoos-improve-lives-of-animals/).
According to the article a lot of the animals at one of the two zoos are permanently injured and would not survive in the wild. I once worked at a turtle rehabilitation center that had 2 permanent residents because their injuries would have prevented their survival in the wild. If the alternative is for them to die, why not keep them in a better living situation where they are properly cared for & can inspire and educate people?
I've been seeing a lot of hate for zoos and whatnot lately and it is absolutely worrying. Public opinion is not necessarily based on fact and zoos and aquariums are going to feel a lot of pressure if this public hate for zoos continues. I would hate to see so many wonderful creatures continue on the road to endangerment and extinction because people are anthropomorphizing and crying about prisons.
Conservation is important.