I Hate Zoos!

[SuperFerret]

You don't gorillas would rather enjoy swinging through miles of vine, or a lion ruling the animal kingdom and leader of a pride, or a killer whale exploring the whole world instead of doing dumb tricks?

They might, but it's actually helpful to their species that those individuals are in captivity, at the very least for exposing people to those species in the first place.

My views on conservation are complex and vary depending on the scale we're talking about and how much emotion we're going to include in the discussion, but it has always seemed to me that the average person on the most basic level really only cares that tigers/pandas/polar bears/(insert endangered species here) might go extinct based solely on the fact that they were exposed to them as children, usually via zoos. You, and the dip****s who share this view, want to cut all future conservation movements off at the legs.

Going full-on animal rights kind of sounds like a good idea on paper ("all animals are free from human involvement") but it doesn't work at all when confronted with reality. I mean, why do you want to cut one species off from the ecosystem so fully that they are not allowed to interact with their fellow species at all? Nevermind the fact that it's very much a fringe thing, and the overwhelming majority of humanity is tolerant and well-intentioned towards other species AT THE VERY, MOST BLINDINGLY OPTIMISTICALLY, BEST. (Hell, it sucks to be a human in many human societies, nevermind what it's like to be a dog.)

I don't really have any other points, and I've kind of rambled, so I'll just end this by stating that not only do I disagree with you, I look down upon any who share your opinions to the extreme that you do.

 

[The Question]

I think its immoral and wrong to enslave and trap an animal, outside of its natural habitat. Don't give me the animal lives longer jive, I don't want to hear it. As much as I love sharks I will not lower myself to going to a zoo. I hate going to pet stores and seeing animals in cages so small they can barely turn around. I hate that humans own, dogs and animals as pets. My mother has a dog so I go get dog food for him. I would never put a leash on an animal or trap them into bring my friend so I will never have a pet. Humans just have to have power don't they?

That's not how having pets works. People don't go out into the wild and trap wild dogs and cats and then domesticate them. The breeds of dogs and cats that we keep as pets have been bred for domestication for thousands of years. They've evolved to be domestic animals. As they are right now, their natural state is to live with humans. They do very poorly in the wild on their own, and forcing them out into the wild would be forcing them into a situation that they're not instinctively prepared for.

Also, why are you talking about humans like you're not one yourself?

 

[SuperFerret]

Depends on the animal. Animals like cows and chickens no, but apes, elephants, dolphins and dogs are definitely capable of emotional pain.

I think you're making arbitrary judgement calls there. Dogs are not really more intelligent than cattle in any great degree, and intelligence does not correlate with emotion anyway.

"Happiness" is also hard to define. Other, more basic emotions, like anger or fear, are easier to define and hold a purpose in an individual's survival. Even a cockroach acts to ensure its own survival, and the mental processes that drive that (as simple as they may be) are probably akin to fear. Could a cockroach that isn't in fear be considered happy then? It's tough to say for sure, it's certainly a possibility, but unless we develop some sort of way to experience things are other species, we can't really know for sure.

It's best to try and treat other species with thought to whether or not they suffer through your actions, and if they are, how much does that suffering weigh in the bigger picture? Does the momentary pain of the swine's death outweigh your family's need to eat? Does the zoo elephant's descent into misery outweigh the sort of forced ambassador role it plays to ensure the survival of its species?

 

[NickNitro]

I've never seen so many concerned about an animal's supposed "happiness".

I seriously doubt they care, just as long as they're fed.

When you take an animal out of their natural habitat I can't see why they wouldn't be a longing for freedom, especially ones that were not bread in captivity. Have you seen some of these "zoo's"? Not all of them are as extravagant as the Philadelphia/New Orleans/Disney's Animal Kingdom....

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/photos/6-of-the-saddest-zoos-in-the-world/cage-fright
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/01/15/canadian-zoos-worst-elephants_n_2483864.html

 

[SuperMike335!!]

The other question I have for the last son is, where do we draw the line?

Is it poorly run zoos with tiny cages where the animals or bored out of their mind?

Or does this apply to the zoos where animals have large enclosures mimic natural habitat and activities to keep animals entertained as well?

 

[SuperFerret]

The other question I have for the last son is, where do we draw the line?

Is it poorly run zoos with tiny cages where the animals or bored out of their mind?

Or does this apply to the zoos where animals have large enclosures mimic natural habitat and activities to keep animals entertained as well?

He seems to be calling for the complete package, where humans do not in any way use animals for anything, be it meat, clothes, work, entertainment or pets.

 

[Immortalfire]

Sounds like some of you need to form HETA. Like PETA, only H for Hypesters.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

He seems to be calling for the complete package, where humans do not in any way use animals for anything, be it meat, clothes, work, entertainment or pets.

So he's like a human separatist?

 

[the last son]

I have no problem with people eating animals. I've recently become a vegetarian and see no problem. That's all part of life. Being on a food chain. But to enslave, is downright wrong. Also, yes, fur and animal djinns, tusks, all that jazz is wrong. I can't get too in-depth I'm on my phone at work. I'm not a nut just don't feel the need to show power over the defenseless. when I walk my, moms dog we jog and he gas no leash.

 

[the last son]

Yes, don't use animals for work either. I don't think they should be used for food but that I won't compassion about its been going, down forever

 

[SuperFerret]

I hope you get a ticket for disobeying leash laws then. Try to be a responsible pet-owner if you're going to get all up in arms over the "defenseless".

 

[SuperMike335!!]

I have no problem with people eating animals. I've recently become a vegetarian and see no problem. That's all part of life. Being on a food chain. But to enslave, is downright wrong. Also, yes, fur and animal djinns, tusks, all that jazz is wrong. I can't get too in-depth I'm on my phone at work. I'm not a nut just don't feel the need to show power over the defenseless. when I walk my, moms dog we jog and he gas no leash.

Ok, I'm curious.

What is your definition of slavery as it applies to animals?

I have pet goldfish? Is this slavery?

 

[the last son]

Yes, why, would you want a pet fish? But that is a lower level offense. listen I know this is a messed up world very, very messed up and you only have one life and it sucks that you have to be humans entertainment. If I was a dog I'd rather be hit by a car or eaten by deers than forced upon a family.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

So according to lastson, eating battery-cage chickens or calves (veal) that have grown up in darkness until they're slaughtered is okay because it's the cycle of life, man.... but there's no bigger cruelty in the world than taking care of a domesticated dog. Gotcha!

And screw you and your terrible logic, man, saying it's better for dogs to be run down by vehicles than be pets. My dog was hit and killed by a car and there was no greater suffering than what he went through as he died.

 

[Tigress]

I don't like zoos, but they are necessary for the animal species, their last line of defense in some cases. Too many animals are becoming extinct and zoos protect them by taking care.. should be taking care of them, be their guardians. However some zoos are better at having more natural and larger habitat for these animals. More zoos need to follow their leads. They also help with their breeding in some cases. Aquatic parks falter more and need to be more dedicated and respectful of the animal species they are caring for.

 

[C. Lee]

I love zoos.

 

[Immortalfire]

I love zoos.

Animal happiness hater!

 

[C. Lee]

Animal happiness hater!

If they can't do the time...they shouldn't do the crime!

 

[Victarion]

I also hate zoos that mistreat their animals, like those in the pics with the tiny cage. Good zoo is good.

 

[Hotwire]

If I was a dog I'd rather be hit by a car or eaten by deers than forced upon a family.

This sentence just made me laugh. You would rather suffer one of the most painful deaths a dog can die, or be eaten by an herbivore, than live a nice life with a family that will love and care for you better than you would ever find in the wild and, i most cases, never ask anything in return? Well, good luck with that.

By the way, what the Hell kind of deer live in your area that they're eating dogs?!?!

 

[terry78]

This sentence just made me laugh. You would rather suffer one of the most painful deaths a dog can die, or be eaten by an herbivore, than live a nice life with a family that will love and care for you better than you would ever find in the wild and, i most cases, never ask anything in return? Well, good luck with that.

By the way, what the Hell kind of deer live in your area that they're eating dogs?!?!

That is exactly what they are, Hell Deer. They have a lot of HP also, so just using your melee weapon won't take.

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Yes, why, would you want a pet fish? But that is a lower level offense. listen I know this is a messed up world very, very messed up and you only have one life and it sucks that you have to be humans entertainment. If I was a dog I'd rather be hit by a car or eaten by deers than forced upon a family.

WHAT?

I don't agree with how the animals in the above photos are cared for, because those are too small of enclosures. But most zoos I have no problem with. Many zoos do a lot of good, and help species with dwindling numbers. They are far better than many animal shelters taking in domestic animals. Hell, PETAs shelters were euthanizing them by the thousands before law enforcement stepped in, including taking animals they knew had homes and IDs and killing them just because they didn't agree with them being pets.

 

[warhorse78]

Eh, animals in their natural habitats. Want to see some terrible stuff, watch the movies Gorillas in the Mist and A Far Off Place, and then imagine those movies, ten times worse.

As I see it though, I am a lover of animals, big time, but I feel like I need to worry about the humans that are being hurt before the animals.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Most first-world zoos in 2013 don't "stick animals in small cages" either. That crap sorta stopped in the first half of the 20th century. Granted, some poor countries still have terrible conditions for their animals, but you can't compare those to most modern zoos.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

If I was a dog I'd rather be hit by a car than forced upon a family.

No more opinions for you until you can actually form one thats semi coherent. There is a LOT of stupid s**t that gets said on the internet, but you are leading the pack my friend.

I mean I agree with you to an extent about zoos and the like, but jeezus man, listen to yourself. No one can possibly be this stupid. You rather have a dog be run down, to die a terribly agonizing death, than to live with a loving family? I understand there are s****y people out there who abuse their pets, but there are probably 10x the amount who care for their pet as if it were another human. My sisters dog being one of them. She'd throw herself in front of a semi truck before she let her dog get hit, but no, your dumbass thinks the dog would be better off splattered on the road. The fact you would rather see my sisters dog DEAD on the side of the road than live with us is actually offensive. Wow.