That is absolutely inevitable. Protecting a species from extinction “in Earth time” would require protecting it not 5 years, or 50 years, or 500 years, but 50,000 years or 500,000 years. From the point of view of the history of life on Earth, the difference between 500 years and 500,000 years is barely enough to even notice. Do you think human cultures can maintain a constant and successful effort to preserve a species for even 500 years?
All the currently endangered species will go extinct within the next few hundred years if humans do not become extinct much sooner, and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.
And it would be even more merciful to hasten the extinction by lifting those troublesome poaching restrictions! Wouldn’t want the species to suffer in the interim.
Check out Lion Country Safari…SoCal has a perfect climate for many animals but unfortunatly the one specie that matters makes it cost prohibitive to maintain here
i think a good argument could be made that humanities interaction with other species has done some serious damage to them.
and if youre saying we owe it to them to try and save some from extinctions, and that unfortunately zoos and reserves are our only option left; and that these zoos and reserves can have the added function of educating us on how to interact with species without having such a detrimental impact. then i cant really argue with that.
but as soon as you try to assuage you guilt by saying “and theyre better off” then youve lost the argument!
I don’t mind zoos, as long as the enclosures for the animals are able to mimic to a large extent their natural environment. I am not saying African plains animals should have a 1000 square mile enclosure, but if a cheetah needs a quarter square mile (or whatever) in order to reach top speed like it would normally do, that should be OK. Don’t have that kind of space?; then you should not have a cheetah exhibit. Don’t have room for a herd of wildebeest as a herding animal needs?; then you should not have them. I think most reputable zoos and animal parks do not keep the residents in cages any more, but if they do, that is not right.
Zoos offer a way for average people to connect with the wild animals, the natural world, and places they will likely never visit - without that connection, I would be concerned that people will stop caring about those things (or care less that they already do). If the animals have an artificial environment that mimics their natural one, and they were born into that situation, I don’t see a problem here. Forcing them to behave in un-natural ways and keeping them in cages, like the circus, or capturing wild animals for display, is wrong.
Also, question: do we consider mammals more sentient, or more aware of their environmental constraints, than reptiles or fish? If so, why?
we cant loose sight of the fact that people put animals in zoos because they want to; because they think it whats right. mother nature was not consulted!
nothing good ever comes from unilateral decisions!
mc
noun: hubris
excessive pride or self-confidence.
synonyms: arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, hauteur, pride, self-importance, egotism, pomposity, superciliousness, superiority; More
informal big-headedness, cockiness
antonyms: humility
(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.
the op maid the claim that the animals were better off, your point is that humans will be better off. i dont necessarily disagree with you, but i’m not convinced its true either; or that its a good justification.
My dog makes choices every day. When we’re walking in the forest and come to a fork in the path, I will often let her pick the way. I’ll say “which way do you want to go? This way?” and point one way and she’ll just stand there and look at me and then I’ll say “or this way?” and point down the other path and off she goes like a shot. Same thing when I’m trying to decide if we should go on or turn back, I’ll ask her “should we keep going or go home?” and sometimes she’ll turn around and take off in the direction of home and sometimes she’ll dash off ahead when she wants to keep going.
Unfortunately zoos are the last hope for endangered animals but one only needs to look at a wolf or lion neurotically pacing back and forth and back and forth to know that freedom to run for miles and miles and hunt with the pack is all they want.
And I’m quite happy that “PETA types” have driven Barnum and Bailey out of business. Circus animals live wretched, horrible lives.
I think you’re vastly underestimating the capabilities of many non-human animals. I think humans do that sometimes to assuage our guilt about how we have treated animals.
An environment is only constrained if the animal is forced to behave in a more limited way than they have evolved to behave. Having slower metabolisms, reptiles have less need to move around than mammals, and tend to be ambush hunters–sitting still for hours or days at a time waiting for prey to walk within striking distance. (And yes, reptiles and fish are dumber than mammals.)
But why isn’t it better for them if the zoo does a reasonable job of providing adequate facilities for the animal? Just because if humans created it, it is automatically unnatural, evil, and wrong? Even if the animal is healthy and comfortable? Why? Because of some abstract notion of good and bad, like fairness?
No, of course not. There are some really great zoos. Unfortunately there are also many horrible zoos who are not interested in making a good life for their inhabitants but rather making money off of them.
Some zoos are good. Some zoos are bad. Zoos are the last hope for the survival of some animals.
It’s really not a fair comparison to circus animals.
Zoos aren’t for the particular animals that live there. They are for educating us humans about species of animals we normally wouldn’t get to see, so that we can appreciate and understand more about them, so that we (humans) will hopefully support programs that care for those species in the wild.
The animals that are raised in the zoos are more like ambassadors for their species. Not by their choice, but some sacrifices have to be made for the betterment of the earth. By far the majority of most zoos are non-profit organizations, that work on adapting themselves so that they can better care the animals and educate the visitors about these animals.