Zoos

[think positive]

The problem is Skids, you get the fools who want to take selfies, get up too close, scare the animals, its just not natural. I really dont agree with them at all.

The kangaroo enclosure is really well managed, but there was still a few idiots who tried to get a hold of the kangaroos.

im actually really shocked to read some of these. The US has some bloody awful animal horror stories, but the rescue place i went to, Noahs Ark, i paid for the most expensive close up tour, and all that meant was we were inside the second fence, we were not allowed to touch the inner fence if the animal was near, no contact, no feeding. very small groups, with a VERY strict keeper. volunteers have no contact with the animals except domesticated animals (they have horses and farm animals too).

[Skids]

https://theconversation.com/in-defence-of-zoos-how-captivity-helps-conservation-56719

Anti-zoo and animal rights groups such as CAPS, PETA or the Born Free foundation claim that zoos are inherently cruel. They highlight animals housed in small cages for “our entertainment” and claim all should be released back into the wild.

But zoo design has moved a long way since the bad days of bare, concrete cages, and indeed innovative enclosures these days can closely replicate an animal’s wild habitats.

In fact, most zoo animals, including Harambe the gorilla, have been born and bred in captivity. They have never experienced “the wild”, which many people assume is a wonderful and safe place, despite destruction of natural habitats for palm oil, threats from climate change or the increase in poaching.

Overall, zoos provide opportunities to observe and engage with exotic animals, many of which may be threatened with extinction in the wild. Seeing them up close can spark a passion for biology, conservation and the environment.

So next time you decide to visit a zoo, take a deeper look at the animal care and information that is provided for you. You may become a defender of zoos and the vital work they do.

[think positive]

Skids, I really would love to see all wild animals living free, cows die in their sleep before they get to the table, every dog in a happy healthy home, every child free of poverty and abuse, but its never going to happen. yes zoos play apart now in keeping species from being extinct, but we still need to move forward, a long way forward in ensuring their welfare is Paramount.

i cant watch national geographic for the most part, and as much as i would love love love to cuddle a bear cub, im not going too. its just plain wrong.

Animals were not put on this earth to be our entertainment.

[Skids]

Hey, I agree totally.
But Morrigu saying I have NFI and whining about the way it is isn't going to solve anything.
Zoos have come a long way in the last few decades and, the people who work in them (there were dozens mingling in the crowd pointing things out)are very passionate about animal welfare.

I don't know what the answer is, but Perth Zoo, IMO, is at least on the right track.

[stui magpie]

[Pies4shaw]

There's the key to solving world hunger and saving all our precious wildlife, Stui: tell the starving Africans to put the rhinos down and eat the hipsters from Brunswick.

[think positive]

[David]

I think there’s a bit of a tendency among some animal-rights types to romanticise the natural world. Even without humans, nature is a brutal, cruel, violent place, and many wild animals spend a considerable portion of their existence trying to avoid death. While I agree that zoos in the past were pretty miserable places, the modern zoos I’ve been to (Melbourne, Werribee and Adelaide) seem pretty unimpeachable, and I dare say the animals there live much better lives than they would otherwise. Add the work that modern zoos do for conservation and I think you’d have to be a bit of a puritan to oppose them.

(On the other hand, I’m not a fan of the more "entertainment-oriented" places like the Melbourne Aquarium. Their penguin enclosure in particular seems pretty sad, and honestly I was getting cabin fever myself with their stupid music droning on in the background.)

[Morrigu]

[Morrigu]

[luvdids]

[Skids]

Maybe a read through their annual report, before an arrogant eye roll?

https://perthzoo.wa.gov.au/about-perth-zoo/annual-report

There ya go, corrected for accuracy

[luvdids]

[Morrigu]

^Absolutely bloody wonderful to see they are adding to their financial coffers by making the elephants paint and then selling their 'art" - mind you Melbourne zoo (and who knows how many others) also provide their elephants with this wonderful opportunity!

Such a natural elephant behaviour - I've lost count of the number of times we've been sitting at a waterhole and a herd of eles have wandered in, retrieved their easels from the bushes picked up their paint and paintbrushes and got right to painting!

[stui magpie]