What's your opinion.. ? Do zoos unfairly hold exotic animals captive for the sake of educational value? Or is it a cleverly masked and legalized version of trafficking them.
I am sure it is very stressful for the animals to be forcefully removed from their natural habitats.. and the same educational value could be found by watching National Geographic Explorer or similar programming..
But maybe others have different opinions.. ?
What's yours... ?
2006-07-01 14:13:12 · 10 answers · asked by lost_but_not_hopeless 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
The answers are much better than I expected.. thanks for your input on this one :) There are obviously a lot of conflicting views on the subject.. and I love a good debate.. I should have clarified my question so that it would allow both options combined to be a reasonable answer.
2006-07-01 16:16:46 · update #1
Zoos serve a function that few appreciate. Zoos represent the only chance for survival of many creatures. Given the pressure on habitats, some animals will be extinct within a short time. Even as I write, another species has perished. It is true that it seems cruel to impound animals but zoos have made major changes over the last 50 years and provided the animals with a safe habitat to insure their continued existence. The panda was declining rapidly in numbers until China got the message that this unique animal was on the verge of extinction...but today (in spite of them being confined) the population has increased. Some turtles have become extinct because of human encroachment in their habitat. Is it fair to say that a healthy animal in a zoo is better than a dead turtle. There is a great deal of zoo work going on , that most people know little about, exchanges of breeding stock, superb medical care for the animals, diets that insure proper nutrition, and scientists that often risk their own lives trying to keep them alive. Think about the destruction of rainforests, even National Geographic would have difficulty photographing an animal if it no longer existed. Man is greedy and is taking over the habitats...we would like to keep the pigmy owls, pup-fish and the magnificent Bengal tiger in the wild...but the wild is being paved or turned into Condos.
2006-07-01 14:33:35 · answer #1 · answered by Frank 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think that humans have a right to put other animals on display as entertainment. Yes, there is some educational value, but it's worth noting that education was not the first goal of zoos; entertainment was. Education was simply used as an excuse when people started to question the fairness of keeping wild animals in cages.
2006-07-01 21:18:26 · answer #2 · answered by Cyn90 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a huge debate going on right now as to whether or not elephants should be kept in zoos. There have been quite a few elephant deaths in US zoos in the last couple of years. Go to www.elephants.com to read the whole story.
Not all animals are appropriate for all zoos.
Even though zoos claim to have an educational purpose their first purpose is to turn a profit.
2006-07-02 19:22:47 · answer #3 · answered by bridger82923 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Very good question! Truthfully it's a bit more than just education, many of the animals are rescued from hamful situations and others could not have survived as it is... Darwins theory. If you are really interested in the subject you might like to read The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Its about a man who grew up with his family owning a zoo.
2006-07-01 21:21:47 · answer #4 · answered by teachermonkeymouse 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that zoos have true educational value and also selfishly hold exotic animals in captivity. I appreciated zoos as a child. Observing live animals left a greater impression on me than watching animals on television. I think that spending time at the zoo helped me to become more interested in helping to preserve the environment. I still visit my local zoo occasionally, and every time I leave I have mixed feelings about having spent time with animals in captivity.
2006-07-08 20:39:59 · answer #5 · answered by ahhihello 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Many zoos have breeding projects for endangered species. Also without the studies that zoos do on exotic animals we would not have the medical knowledge and even environmental knowledge we do of some species to help protect them in the wild. My opinion is yes they have true education value to them.
2006-07-02 07:39:07 · answer #6 · answered by akblkbear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This isn't an answer so much as a comment...but most animals on display in zoos were born in captivity, not forcefully removed from their natural habitats.
2006-07-01 22:33:33 · answer #7 · answered by Janna F 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
zoos are educational but i do have a split view on this .
it must be horrific for the animals to be moved but is it any different to buying a dog or cat and moving them ???
some kids would never see these animals in real life if it wasn't for zoos etc so in one way they are good .
national geographic and similar programs are great but its not like the real thing is it .
as long as these animals have super care and environments that are close to theirs i don't see the problem its no different to keeping fish in a tank , when they would be in big rivers and lakes etc ..
nearly over half the population have fish in ponds etc .
i enjoy taking my daughter to safari parks etc to explore and learn from new animals she would otherwise never see ..
2006-07-03 08:17:19 · answer #8 · answered by j.j. 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some zoos are like that, but there are zoos that are concerned with endangered animal rehabilatation. Not all zoos are evil and with all of those tree huggers out there I wouldn't worry about it.
2006-07-02 22:28:44 · answer #9 · answered by brandonek@sbcglobal.net 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only if they are rehabilitating the animals or keeping them because they aren't able to live in the wild is it Okay.
2006-07-01 22:45:31 · answer #10 · answered by christina.jones 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋