Zoos - Ethical or not?

Feel similar to you OP. I have mixed feelings. Zoos do a lot of good now and the enclosures are bigger, but I still think for some animals the living space is too small. But for others, particularly potential prey, I'd wonder is a zoo a much less stressful place than the wild?

Must be crazy, listening to seals ..... Sh1t! Look what I just done there! I really didn't mean that either!

Zoo's? Yeah. I remember when ye'd see a lion in what amounted to this room I'm sitting in. Only, that was It, for him. No walks up the track. No going into town. Just that small space. What he could see from there was all he'd ever see again. Pretty f**kin brutal. Concrete and bars.

Then, the whole safari park idea kicked off. I guess that maybe sort of showed the zoos up for what they were. Animal Concentration Camps. So, the zoos ~ and their patrons ~ started to cop on. Now, zoos are generally much better. At least those in north western Europe seem to be?

The whole ethos, about breeding for conservation, is good too. Not strictly a zoo, granted. But, look at the work done with Spoon Billed Sandpipers at the Wildfowl Trust. Fantastic!

So, yeah. Their earlier report read " Could do Much better ". They pulled their socks up. Hopefully, the good will now improve and the bad get shut the f**k down.

They are basically retirement homes for animals, most are sourced from other zoos and would not have been proper wild animals from the outset so the captive nature and daily food handed to them would be all the animals know as the norm. I suppose the awareness of the animals helps fund protection programmes.

JupiterKid wrote: »

I'm lounging around in my living room with the patio door open and I can clearly hear the seals from Dublin Zoo.:)

This has got me thinking - what's your opinion on zoos? 15 or so years ago, I was dead against zoos as I saw them as prisons for animals and research does indicate that big animals kept in small enclosures suffer a lot of stress and mental health problems.

On the other hand, many modern zoos now perform important conservation and breeding programmes, particularly for vulnerable/endangered species.

I was in Dublin zoo a few years back (hadn't been there in years) and the extra space the big animals have in the new African Plains section is great - far better compared to what they had before. Yet I also couldn't help feeling that the elephant enclosure, although much bigger now, is still too small for them.

Your thoughts on zoos?

Are you the president ?

Prefer to see them in places like Fota or other parkland than a zoo. In Dublin a few years ago and there was a gorilla in there that looked so depressed, I would've left had it not been for the kids with us. I couldn't wait to get to the exit. Still saddens me to think of him stuck in there.

Senor Fancy Pants wrote: »

What are the seals sayin'?

Baaabyyy To me you are a roller dictionary I can't deny.

(That's what I thought he was saying for years)

I understand why they're necessary, I just can't enjoy watching a caged animal, especially animals like bears who are meant to range 100s of km slowly going insane behind a glass enclosure. I wouldn't even own a bird as a pet - a bird not able to fly - seems unimaginably sad to me.

JupiterKid wrote: »

Ha! That would be fun. Nope, I live along the Northern edge of the Phoenix Park.

I lived on the north circular as a kid. During the winter my mum would bring us for walks around the outside and we could see the animal enclosures through the fence.

For those of us who haven't the pockets to pontificate about seeing animals in the wild the zoo has always been a good thing for my children

I'm not sure which bit is the African plains but when i was at Dublin zoo earlier this year, the lion was pacing over and back like it was going mad. It hadn't the room to break into a run. Nor did it have anywhere to lie down properly out of sight of zoo visitors. I was disgusted. The monkey shed is pathetic, tiny, dingy and dark.

JupiterKid wrote: »

and I can clearly hear the seals from Dublin Zoo.:)

Are you just lion around?

If I had the choice, I'd rather see animals in a more humane habitat but for a lot of kids, especially low income families, it's the closest they'll get to seeing real wild fauna.