Zoochosis

Look into the eyes of a caged tiger and you will see the zombie victim of 'zoochosis': A passionate plea by conservationist who breeds big cats to return them to wild
By Damian Aspinall

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2388943/Look-eyes-caged-tiger-zombie-victim-zoochosis-A-passionate-plea-conservationist-breeds-big-cats-return-wild.html

WS

A very interesting article and well said.  I too really hope that all zoos will be phased out within the next 20 years.  I cannot bear to see caged animals and birds, it saddens me so much.  No matter how much space they have they are not wild and free which is where they all be be.

Thanks for the link WS - definitely one to make you think.

Lai

That is really thought provoking and Damian speaks a lot of sense. He is right in that many zoos do not just have species that are endangered, so do they need to be in captivity? Probably not but I think zoos have them so people can see such a diverse selection of animals and it also draws many more people to the zoo. Some would say this can only be good for the animals because then all creatures are helping the survival for all endangered animals but you can then also say, why should other animals be put into solitary for the sake of other animals. There is also the statement that Damian makes about the breeding programs, not all programs are there for the third or fourth generation to be returned to the wild (we have read so many times that it takes a few generations of captive bred animals before they can be returned to the wild safely). Some would say if they are endangered then maybe the only way to stop complete extinction is to have the animals in the zoos and maybe there is some bearing on keeping some in zoos so they dont die out completely but is this again right on the animals? Maybe if there wasnt such animal/human conflict or poaching, a lot of animals would not be on the near extinction register. The other thing he mentions is that zoos do not have to publish how much revenue they put back into conservation and I agree that transparency should be there for all to see, afterall, it is us visitors to the zoo that supports the conservation the zoo is partaking in. We could also say that our entrance fees support the amimals in the zoo and that is true, we must make up a huge part of their revenue and we would hate to see the animals starve by stopping all visiting but on the flip side, are we just perpetrating the capture and encagement of innocent animals? There is a lot to think about here and I agree with Damian that zoos should be phased out over the next 20 years and support the return to the wild of animals that can safely be returned. If there are animals that cant be returned then they stay at the zoo until they sadly die and breeding programs are phased out over this 20 year period. The trouble is if zoos have less animals they potentially get less visitors, so how do they care for the animals they have? the sad truth is that we may then have animals in zoos who are not being cared for as well as they should be and we have all seen zoos like that through various posts on here. It is such a hard call and the phasing out of zoos really does have to be done with such careful planning and maybe its people like Damian who can truely help.
I for one have enjoyed some of the zoos I have been too but I have also seen some animals that I thought may not be too happy and although now I can afford to go on safari there nave been many years where I couldnt and I will admit I was pleased I could see some of my favourite animals in the zoo but if I am truely unselfish, I would dearly love to see all animals where they belong, in the wild but also safely in the wild with no threat of poaching or retribution from man because they stole a cow, but those two things are again another whole ball game.

Sorry that was a bit of a rabbit.

littlewid-x-