Zoos are cruel....

This is quite extreme. We are not going to "reduce the human population massively" in the short term short of murdering people. It is going to peak and possible reduce on its own soon. But letting perfectionism get in the way of doing anything at all is the coward's and the fatalist's way out.

Why do you think it doesn't matter?

Good zoos don't just keep animals alive in zoos. They have programs of reintroduction which are important for restoring habitats.

I am a vegan who avoided zoos for a long time but I have come to believe there are some good ones doing important work.

I'd include horse racing, show jumping and most definitely dressage to the animal cruelty list. Also grey hound racing.

I do understand, of course, that (some) zoos play an important role in animal conservation.

Plenty exist just for entertainment though, and they can get to fuck. I think the thing I hate most of all is bird displays - where they keep birds, many of which are not endangered at all, in tiny cages and wheel them out once a day for a bunch of baying monkeys to clap at them for getting 5 minutes to fly around.

Fuck. Right. Off.

I agree!!! We know lots of things are bad for the environment but we won’t stop doing it. Can’t possibly give up flying, why shouldn’t I fly when other people have private jets!!!!

Just look at the rubbish people leave climbing Mount Everest!!! Humans are inherently selfish.

Yep! Humans are the worst species on the planet!

Why do you think human life is more important than non-human life?

Humans are very selfish and destructive. We are incredibly greedy. We take, take, take and sod the consequences!!!

Species can become endangered in a very short timeframe. The hooded vulture lost 85% of its population in 50 years and went from least concern to critically endangered. So I think it is still important to maintain a captive back stock of species that are currently least concern, because you can’t predict the future.

Of course it would be preferable for humans to stop poaching, poisoning, destroying habitats, etc. but you know…. humans are going to be humans, so breeding programmes are necessary.

I understand this, i really do but decent animal enclosures and food and enrichment animals might be content, day to day, also the wild isn't all it is cracked up to be.

I am torn about things like this. Obviously we need to stop the problem at source but in the meantime we need to do the best thing for the individual animals. Whether that is to save them or destroy them I honestly don't know. Saving them feels better to us but is it really? I honestly don't know.

I always think about the orangutan who was used a sex slave in the palm oil industry. I don't keep up with her story as I find it too upsetting. I do question whether it would have been better to let her go rather than rehabilitate her. I obviously hope she has been rehabilitated and her life is now good but I just don't know.

Edited to say: I would urge those who think human beings are superior to other animals to read up on her story.

Do you have evidence for your claims? So much unsubstantiated nonsense is spread about zoos

But why does it matter if some animals become extinct? If it’s a choice between breeding and keeping animals in captivity, wouldn’t it be better for them to go extinct?

Some people are anti everything even when it helps animals due to a blanket 'I hate zoos' mantra.

They'd likely rather the animals were put to sleep than be rescued.

There are an estimated 120 to 130 Amur leopards left in the wild. While this is one of the rarest big cats on Earth, dedicated conservation efforts have helped their numbers grow from a critical low of just 30 individuals at the turn of the century.

The Amur Leopard is critically endangered. There is a breeding programme in some zoos to attempt to keep it from becoming extinct. That's important.

What do you think about wildlife parks that take in animals that need it.

For example Monkey World in Dorset?

Alison has been running the sanctuary for decades. She took in so many chimps who were used for beach props and other human entertainment. She has gibbons and other species all rescued.
she has dozens of marmosets all rescued from the pet trade.

She is the EU orangutan crèche, hand rearing babies, and when they are old enough, they are given to a nursery group of orangutans to be raised.

They can’t be released into the wild as many of the animals have mental and physical problems because of their captivity before the park

Stupid argument and nowhere near comparable!

Humans are not likely to become extinct for a while yet, there are over 8 billion around.

Some animals are near extinction and zoo breeding programmes are vital to stop them becoming extinct in the near future.

We are superior. We’re the apex predators currently.

Unfortunately zoo’s are essential now. Without them we would have more extinct species.

Animals that would have been poached or hunter are safe. They have dedicated breeding programs, and the enclosures now are not just bars and plants. The keepers go out of their way to make sure their animals have a good quality of life

I’m torn about them because I love animals so like to see them. Some animals wouldn’t survive in the wild due to being born in captivity, illness or being saved from abuse, it’s easier to study animals in a zoo than the wild, and some species are only alive due to breeding programmes.

But at the same time they are in small enclosures, often in weather conditions they’re not designed for, living a completely different life than they would in the wild. I think zoos need to be much much bigger and have only small animals that wouldn’t travel very far. I’m surprised that we still have large animals like giraffes and elephants in the UK and particularly bears ☹️

Why do people feel they have to post such ridiculous nonsense?

Edited to say: There's quite a lot of culling of humans going on at the moment and a shortage of land is at least one of the reasons for it.

So we should have mass culling of humans and take away the houses of the survivors?

Given that that isn not going to happen, a good zoo with a conservation programme seems a reasonable alternative.

I agree OP and I am not an animal lover.

I understand there are some conservation needs and the raise money and research, but I feel very uncomfortable seeing them in enclousures.