debate in against of zoos
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A while ago I wrote an article about some of the good things zoos do for conservation. Now I hadn’t realized how vehemently some people hated zoos (and sadly, how afraid many great zoos are about sticking up for their work). Suddenly, it became one of my most read articles.
Every time something bad happened, like the gorilla that escaped (but didn’t), journalists call around looking for someone on each side of the argument. Luckily for them, Born Free and PETA are all to happy to point out the negatives. Meanwhile, everyone closely involved with zoo’s seems to keep a low profile, and a little stuck, journalists end up asking me for a comment.
Now, I’ve never worked in a zoo, but I do believe in balance – in seeing both sides of an argument. So I’m very happy to advocate goodzoos, and only good zoos from a conservation perspective (my article about the great stuff they do is here). But all that doesn’t mean that zoos can’t improve.
I thought I’d take the chance to highlight some of the things I think they could do better – starting with the very arguments used against them.
Common Problems With Zoos
1. Keeping animals in cages is cruel, and we don’t have the right.
Yep, captivity is certainly cruel to an extent. But for me it depends greatly on scale, and how well you can replicate the natural environment. It’s a lot harder to make a nice environment for a lion, than it is for a critically endangered crayfish or snail that’s extinct in the wild.
I’d definitely like to see bigger zoo enclosures, with fewer, if any, really large animals (I’m thinking lions, tigers, elephants). But at the same time, where a species is seriously endangered – for example the Amur leopard(~200 in captivity), Asiatic Lion (<400), I think there’s a great argument for captivity and captive breeding programmes too.
It depends, I suppose, which you think is worse: captivity or extinction? I believe it’s the latter, but of course I can see how some people feel it’s the former.
2. Zoos are just for entertainment.
I’d agree that some folks go to zoo’s for entertainment, whilst some folks go to learn. But by far the biggest group, is the grey area in between.
Now the difference between the good zoos and bad, is that good zoos work harder and harder towards making those experiences educational– or at least they say they do. What isn’t debated, is the fact that 24 million people visit zoos in the UK every year. So like it or lump it, let’s make those visits worthwhile.
Zoos deliver what the public wants. So the best way to influence the zoo experience is to be a discerning customer. Be fussy, if you don’t agree with them, don’t go. But in the same vein, if there’s parts you do like, then speak about that too.
Here’s how:
People go to see animals. So the bigger the enclosure, the harder it is for those exhibits to be seen. The public needs to tolerate that much better (how often to you overhear people moaning that an animal isn’t out on display?)
Big animals draw in visitors. So embrace the little stuff too – that’s arguably where zoos are doing some of their most worthwhile work.
Don’t read those rubbish alarmist stories about Gorillas that I deliberately havn’t linked to, because if you read them, newspapers will keep writing them.
And don’t go rushing to a zoo just because it’s had a baby panda/polar bear/tiger. Because it doesn’t help encourage responsible behavior.
Every time something bad happened, like the gorilla that escaped (but didn’t), journalists call around looking for someone on each side of the argument. Luckily for them, Born Free and PETA are all to happy to point out the negatives. Meanwhile, everyone closely involved with zoo’s seems to keep a low profile, and a little stuck, journalists end up asking me for a comment.
Now, I’ve never worked in a zoo, but I do believe in balance – in seeing both sides of an argument. So I’m very happy to advocate goodzoos, and only good zoos from a conservation perspective (my article about the great stuff they do is here). But all that doesn’t mean that zoos can’t improve.
I thought I’d take the chance to highlight some of the things I think they could do better – starting with the very arguments used against them.
Common Problems With Zoos
1. Keeping animals in cages is cruel, and we don’t have the right.
Yep, captivity is certainly cruel to an extent. But for me it depends greatly on scale, and how well you can replicate the natural environment. It’s a lot harder to make a nice environment for a lion, than it is for a critically endangered crayfish or snail that’s extinct in the wild.
I’d definitely like to see bigger zoo enclosures, with fewer, if any, really large animals (I’m thinking lions, tigers, elephants). But at the same time, where a species is seriously endangered – for example the Amur leopard(~200 in captivity), Asiatic Lion (<400), I think there’s a great argument for captivity and captive breeding programmes too.
It depends, I suppose, which you think is worse: captivity or extinction? I believe it’s the latter, but of course I can see how some people feel it’s the former.
2. Zoos are just for entertainment.
I’d agree that some folks go to zoo’s for entertainment, whilst some folks go to learn. But by far the biggest group, is the grey area in between.
Now the difference between the good zoos and bad, is that good zoos work harder and harder towards making those experiences educational– or at least they say they do. What isn’t debated, is the fact that 24 million people visit zoos in the UK every year. So like it or lump it, let’s make those visits worthwhile.
Zoos deliver what the public wants. So the best way to influence the zoo experience is to be a discerning customer. Be fussy, if you don’t agree with them, don’t go. But in the same vein, if there’s parts you do like, then speak about that too.
Here’s how:
People go to see animals. So the bigger the enclosure, the harder it is for those exhibits to be seen. The public needs to tolerate that much better (how often to you overhear people moaning that an animal isn’t out on display?)
Big animals draw in visitors. So embrace the little stuff too – that’s arguably where zoos are doing some of their most worthwhile work.
Don’t read those rubbish alarmist stories about Gorillas that I deliberately havn’t linked to, because if you read them, newspapers will keep writing them.
And don’t go rushing to a zoo just because it’s had a baby panda/polar bear/tiger. Because it doesn’t help encourage responsible behavior.
Answered by
4
Answer:
debate pointers
Explanation:
.Animals are kept in zoos for humans to see them..they should not be taken out from their natural habitat. I.e. forests.
.Zoo Animals are kept locked in cages or in a specified space...they should be the part of their crowd and should be free to roam in a profined space.
.Zoo Animals are often not given suffiecient food. they find their food themselves that has to be enough for them..zoo caretakers give them either less food or large quantities of food because of which they may fall ill and there is a huge waste of food resource.
Zoo animals are kept by zoo owners for their money ( you shouldnt make money from animals ) and for the mere sake of human entertainment
thankyouu.
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