To believe that zoos are unethical and should be abolished?

[YourHonestOchreBeaker]

Keeping animals in cages for human entertainment seems cruel, no matter how ‘nice’ the enclosures are. AIBU to think that zoos have no place in a modern society?

With that post that just got deleted it’s clear you are just here on the wind up. Grow up OP

Yes, repeatedly visiting places you morally object to would be a definition of ignorance.

I don't like Chris Peckham as a presenter but I love the fact he speaks very bluntly about these types of topics.

I believe if a wild animal is injured or is abandoned as a baby then it's ok to take them in FOR A WHILE it is saddening to see lions laying around despondently in an enclosure. I don't think conservation of species justifies it

We visit Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland most of their animals are rescues such as the ex-dancing bears and the poor circus lions.

Monkey World isn't a zoo! It's a sanctuary. Very different matter.

YABU. Zoos are no longer just for entertainment. They are crucial to the survival of a lot of species and they work hard on the conservation of it all.

Without zoos, many different species would already be extinct

There are zoos and zoos. Then answer is not a binary yes or no.

In the UK it's basically the same thing now isn't it?

I'm not a huge fan of zoos. I don't like keeping animals in cages and enclosures.

But may have a vital role in wildlife conservation and are part of a breeding programme which helps species that are endangered in the wild.

Zoos can give people a chance to see animals up close, again an opportunity to get them interested in wildlife conservation.

It takes many many generations for a wild animal to "forget" its wild inheritance, if it ever can. To keep large mammals such as big cats, apes, rhino, elephants or whales and dolphins in captivity is shameful and wrong, and I personally won't ever set foot in a zoo again.

I don't know if you've seen zoo animals pacing in circles, deliberately self harming or harming others? All signs of stress and distress. There are orcas in captivity who have deliberately smashed themselves into the walls of their tank until they die. As much as a zoo will say it has great facilities, animals in the wild have enormous territories, they have family bonds that are deeply important to them and meaningful activity which zoos cannot provide.

As for releasing animals back into the wild, i don't think this has any contribution to make and is an excuse for zooos to continue taking in profit. Species are going extinct at a terrifying rate because their habitat is being systematically destroyed by humans. Adding back in the odd animal (if they can even be rehabilitated back into the wild) is going to make very little difference to this massive extinction.

I believe there is a place for them in terms of conservation and protection of species.

However I also believe there are some that could absolutely improve the living conditions and surroundings.

I will agree with you when all wild animals are safe from human encroachment/destruction/pollution etc and can live naturally as nature intended. Until humans stop destroying and poisoning our own environment then the only place to keep a lot of endangered species is in wildlife parks. I am a member at my local wildlife park as I know that it's supporting different species with breeding and reintroduction of which there have been quite a few successful projects over the last 40 years.
I hate seeing animals enclosed but this is currently the only way to ensure that we are avoiding complete extinction of a huge number of animals. Most parks these days are actively involved in conservation but there are a few that do see themselves as 'entertainment' rather than guardians and they do not have a place in modern society and should rightly be shut or improved.
Sadly in order to keep endangered animals safe from complete extinction then money needs to be raised from the public by putting animals on show. This raises money and interest as people are more likely to spend if they feel a 'connection' to the wild animals by seeing them with their own eyes. This is why you often see animals like meerkats and sloths etc as they quite often will start off an interest in children which hopefully leads to a desire to want to help animals and the planet.

Wildlife parks are a necessary evil while other 'humans' savage the planet in such a destructive manner. I've been to some awful parks and have rightly objected to them directly but I have also seen some beautiful ones that 100% put their animals first and have done great good under dire circumstances.

They have to operate as commercial attractions to generate the money for the conservation efforts..

You realise that it's the commercial arm which pays for the conservation work?

It isn’t an uneducated or goady thread.

If zoos are just purely about conservation, why do they have species which aren’t endangered? Some zoos are awful. Some are better than others but it was still pretty distressing at Chester zoo watching a lion endlessly pace up and down. And polar bears which belong in the North Pole sweating in a British summer?

I am not totally anti zoos but they are primarily a profit driven business and any environmental benefits are for PR rather than genuine concern for the animals.

Things have moved on since 100 years ago though.

If you were to close zoos, what would you do with the animals? They cannot be reintroduced to the wild because of the risk of introducing disease to native animals. So do you put them to sleep? Or allow them to live out the remainder of their lives in some kind of reasonable approximation of their native environment?

And if you choose the latter option, how do you propose to fund the considerable expense? As a tax burden, I think it would be vulnerable to cuts when we can’t even fund the needs of vulnerable humans and have wars to fight and greedy pockets to line so funding it commercially is probably the only viable option.

Which basically leaves you with the modern zoo.

At Chessington the tigers are so close to the rides and it's such a sensory overload even for one day . People talking , much , screaming etc ... poor poor things ..

Are you saying Im 100!? Im not.

You do realise the weather in the Arctic circle is season dependent with the summer having long days of sunshine? The UK is warmer but not by much.

I remember seeing those sorts of behaviours when I was a kid, but haven't in a long time. Zoos have gotten really good at enrichment.

They will be well used to it. Completely desensitised

They are prisons for animals that have committed no crime.

There are no polar bears at Chester Zoo. The lions are part of a breeding programme as there are only 400 asiatic loins left in the world thanks to humans. They are repopulating the wild with the breeding programme.
I also think you visited before the new enclosure with its watering hole and heated rocks!