Zoos are cruel....

[Ihateboris]

And should be banned. It's just so sad seeing animals cooped up, just for the pleasure of selfish human beings.

Why is conservation to be commended if it means keeping animals in captivity?

Because it keeps species alive, helps us learn more about them, and keeps the door open to returning the species to its natural habitat.

Biodiversity is a good thing (can we agree on that at least?), we shouldn't knowingly let species become extinct. Keeping some in captivity whilst simultaneously working to conserve / improve their natural habitat is better than running the risk of the species dying out.

Maybe in an ideal world zoos wouldn't be needed, but we aren't there yet.

I would stop pet ownership as well, unless it's some sort of assistance animal.

Agree.
However, I am in awe that in the recent incident the wife of the zoo owner went into the crocodile after that poor child.
There are good people trying to make zoos better places but they should be phased out imo.
Needless to say I go to neither zoos nor aquariums.

But all this only benefits humans. Animals should not be interfered with. Leave them to live in the wild and if they become extinct, so be it. We have caused most of the problems on this planet, but other living things have to suffer for our selfishness and greed.

Why should animals be used as assistance animals? Humans should assist humans so animals don’t have to. Guide dogs for the blind often get very stressed.

This is a y6 debate topic. The arguments are fairly similar.

Yes, what a bloody brave thing to do.

You're right. Ban them all. Any existing pets should be released into the wild.

They do help with conservation but we live in a more pro animal and regulated society. There should be minimum guidelines for zoo's across the world which is impossible to control. I once saw a beautiful lion in a poor country. It's cage was so small and it was pacing around in circles and I cried so much. I tried to explain this is wrong and they just robbed me off. A friend had another similar experience in an Eastern European country, I can't remember exactly which one. Portugal has just opened a national reserve park for elephants no longer used in circuses. The animals should be taken out and out into larger spaces like this. Zoo's should be phased out and only specialist, strictly regulated zoo's should exist for important conservation work.

While I admire her bravery, what the hell does she thin she is she doing when she says: "we proudly house over 100 fascinating animals, from majestic African Lions & Bengal tigers to incredible crocodiles, delightful sloth bears & many more."

I realise she could not have predicted a child being thrown into the crocs enclosure but, if the zoo didn't exist, this incident would not have happened.

Re conservation. As @6ate9 says: "We have caused most of the problems on this planet, but other living things have to suffer for our selfishness and greed." I'd add guilt to that. Because that is what a lot of conservation is about as far as I can see. An attempt to appease our own guilt.

Said no one ever. Apart from in sarcasm that is.

Huge conservation programs are delieved by zoos. Without them many would now be extinct or suffering

We don’t want to face up to the fact that animals do suffer for humans. Donkey rides for example, on the beach sound lovely to some people, but the donkeys get stressed. They are out working long hours in the heat, carrying heavy loads and being surrounded by loud noise which causes them physical and emotional distress.

Why does it matter if animals become extinct? Keeping animals in captivity is NEVER ok!!!

Where do elephants live in a city?

Apparently that’s fine. According to the anti-zoo brigade (well two posters with poorly thought out views akin to a year 6 debate as a pp said).

Absolutely nothing wrong with zoos.

People like to make things complicated to justify their actions. Answer me this, would it be okay to keep humans in captivity so they could breed, if the human race was going to become extinct?

Would you like to live in one?

I guess nature forget to tell my body - haven't had meat for more than 35 years! and more recently no animal products at all. Why am I still strong and healthy?

Who would be keeping us in captivity? Super-intelligent aliens? Keeping us warm and fed, hoping we pair off naturally? Doesn’t sound too bad to me!

There is an argument to shift from zoos to animal rehabilitation centres, the main difference being that the latter doesn't do breeding and largely focuses on injured native wildlife and/or wildlife that has been been removed from the area (like the previously mentioned chimps). There have been pushes for this in some places for many years along with developing systems to better live alongside wildlife.

The options all have benefits and risks for the animals, including the no captivity option. Which option has the least suffering and/or removes the most human-caused suffering, there have been many opinions and data going around that for decades as our knowledge and capabilities have changed.

Of course I agree that would be the ideal scenario in an ideal world!

Unfortunately in some countries which are still riven by war and hunger, the international agreements necessary to make this work are few and far between but certain initiatives are making headway eg one of the most prominent is the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), spanning Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

But as we know, poaching of elephants is still an issue in some of these countries. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions.

Research in the area of behavioural science and environments are making huge advances. Humanity is catching up and making improvements but not all countries are at the same level of education and understanding and most countries, UK included, present a pretty mixed picture.

What surprised me most about visiting China recently was how green it was and how many conservation projects are ongoing in a country which also produces astronomical levels of pollution.

@Kirawaswaiting107 Which is why I said the human population needs to come down to sensible numbers.