# Zoos Locking up Animals Just isn't Right (specifically referring to birds) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998 "2013-01-12T22:02:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/101 "2013-01-15T01:32:44Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > This OP reminds me of when I was in on a band trip in high school for a big parade. I was 16 or 17, and was talking to a guy who was hanging around the area where we were corralled, waiting for our turn to march. He said he was a journalist, and then said “Perhaps you’ve heard of me, I’m William Faulkner.” > > I couldn’t believe that I’d just met William Faulkner. I told everybody. Other students. Our chaperones. My band director. They all seemed suitably impressed. > > A couple of days later, I learned that not only was William Faulkner \*not \*Asian, as the man I met was, but he had also been dead a very long time when this meeting occurred. > > TL;DR: Teenagers are gullible. Was the bus emblazoned with “Blah Blah School for the Gifted” or something? Most non-geeky kids have never even heard of Faulkner, never mind being impressed. I think he would have more luck getting you into his windowless van if he told you he was Walt Disney, and wouldn’t you like to see his [del]etchings[/del] original cels? At his world headquarters, which mysteriously looks like a run down trailer? I was watching, maybe Andrew Zimmern, and they were puffin hunting. They basically sit very still, and when a puffin flies overhead, whip up a long handled net and snare them. Basically a pool skimmer with a deeper net. I’m sure it was edited, but it was amazing how graceful the guys made it seem (Zimmern was not so good). Then they cooked up a puffin feast. **Red** meat. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/102 "2013-01-15T01:43:57Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Was the bus emblazoned with “Blah Blah School for the Gifted” or something? Most non-geeky kids have never even heard of Faulkner, never mind being impressed. I think he would have more luck getting you into his windowless van if he told you he was Walt Disney, and wouldn’t you like to see his [del]etchings[/del] original cels? At his world headquarters, which mysteriously looks like a run down trailer? > I was watching, maybe Andrew Zimmern, and they were puffin hunting. They basically sit very still, and when a puffin flies overhead, whip up a long handled net and snare them. Basically a pool skimmer with a deeper net. I’m sure it was edited, but it was amazing how graceful the guys made it seem (Zimmern was not so good). Then they cooked up a puffin feast. **Red** meat. Are you suggesting that Asian William Faulkner should have tried to catch **BobDucca** with a pool skimmer? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/103 "2013-01-15T01:55:17Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > Yeah, I’m leaving the Straight Dope Message Board. I’ve had enough with you guys. > > ~Last words before my departure. No, seriously-don’t go. I may be late in finding what I consider a true gem on this board (I don’t even know-or care-about any MIT snobbishness) but now that I’ve found you I really would be disappointed if you left. You’re just great. I hope I’m not blubbering or gushing here. Seriously. You have value of which you’re not even aware. And probably never will be. Don’t go. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/104 "2013-01-15T02:32:34Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > None of this information is a secret. If the OP had done a little research, perhaps their post might have been a little more thought-provoking. As it stands, it made me laugh. Or just have asked another question while at Sea World. Seriously, if you’re looking at a bird… with it’s wing… and the curator said “We cut their wings off.” wouldn’t you at least give a “beg pardon? cut?”, to which you’ll be treated to a “No, no no. That would be barbaric. Clip. We clip their wings. It’s a painless procedure, and standard for birds kept in captivity. Do you have any other questions about keeping animals in captivity?” Or would you instead wallow in ignorance for 2 more years and then on an internet thread where multiple cited sources confronts you with information contrary to what you heard when you were 13 years old, stand steadfast and unwavering in that incorrect position? I think the real shame in AU’s stint on this board is that instead of questioning from a position of acknowledged ignorance, he posits from a position of presumed knowledge. The caveat of “I’m not really knowledgeable in this” clashes with the widespread declarations. For someone who recently touted the virtues of the Socratic method, he didn’t question anything. He took what little knowledge he was able to glean and makes giant sweeping declarations from it. Zookeepers are evil. Alexander the Great was… not great. Genetically modified foods are bad. The questioning mind, the mind that seeks to be enlightened would ASK - are zoo’s bad? was Alex the Great bad? Is genetically modified food bad? Stir up debate backed with cites. Alas. Can that outlook even be taught? Is he going to go the rest of his insufferable life as another living example of Alexander Pope’s cautionary quote about a littler learning being a dangerous thing? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/105 "2013-01-15T04:17:42Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > Is he going to go the rest of his insufferable life as another living example of Alexander Pope’s cautionary quote about a littler learning being a dangerous thing? He certainly seemed to have littler learning than most. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/106 "2013-01-15T04:22:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > He certainly seemed to have littler learning than most. snerts…chuckles…laughs irl. Sorry, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/107 "2013-01-15T07:07:51Z")
“Life of Pi” changed my view on zoos. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/108 "2013-01-15T11:39:48Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > “Life of Pi” changed my view on zoos. I really hope you’re not serious. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/109 "2013-01-15T12:57:11Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I really hope you’re not serious. In all fairness, it did rhyme. Kind of. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/110 "2013-01-15T14:02:41Z")
My wife and I were at Sea World in the fall of 2011. Some kid walked up to my wife and started asking her questions about the birds. (She was wearing a Shamu T-shirt so I guess this idiot kid thought that meant she worked there.) Anyway, she gave him some smart-ass made-up answer and sent him on his way. We laughed and laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/111 "2013-01-15T17:15:32Z")
**Anonymous User** ’s departure is now at day three and the situation has expanded, as his “discontinued account” is now posting in addition to merely not leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/112 "2013-01-15T17:37:41Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > I think the real shame in AU’s stint on this board is that instead of questioning from a position of acknowledged ignorance, he posits from a position of presumed knowledge. The caveat of “I’m not really knowledgeable in this” clashes with the widespread declarations. It’s been my experience that some (not all, a minority, actually) of the ‘smartest kid in the class’ have a tendency to assume that since they are smarter and know more than most of their classmates, that they therefore are smarter and know more than most other people. Those are, unsurprisingly, also the kids that get the most wedgies in school. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/113 "2013-01-15T22:18:31Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I really hope you’re not serious. I guess what I really meant is that it made me rethink my original position of “zoos are bad.” I read it when it first came out, so I should probably re-read it before making any more comments on it. Sometimes I really do need to be taken to task. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/114 "2013-01-16T04:03:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > **Anonymous User** ’s departure is now at day three and the situation has expanded, as his “discontinued account” is now posting in addition to merely not leaving. Be fair. He’s made only 16 posts since he declared he was leaving (15 since the second time he declared he was leaving). I’m sure they were all accidental, and there will be no more. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/115 "2013-01-16T14:16:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Be fair. He’s made only 16 posts since he declared he was leaving (15 since the second time he declared he was leaving). I’m sure they were all accidental, and there will be no more. I’m actually back except I don’t plan on using the pit much more. Instead, I’m hanging out in “Great Debates”. Also, **pancakes3** , thanks for the advice on how I should question everything. It is helping. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/116 "2013-01-16T14:50:49Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > I’m actually back except I don’t plan on using the pit much more. Instead, I’m hanging out in “Great Debates”. Good idea not to start any more threads in the Pit until you grow a thicker skin and learn a little more common sense. You’ll probably be Pitted often enough anyway.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/117 "2013-01-16T14:53:10Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > I’m actually back except I don’t plan on using the pit much more. Instead, I’m hanging out in “Great Debates”. > > Also, **pancakes3** , thanks for the advice on how I should question everything. It is helping. No offense, but you’re kind of following the letter of his suggestion, rather than the spirit. Simply asking for definitions of everything and saying “why?” doesn’t serve to enhance your knowledge as much as self-reflection and attempting to generate your own perspective through research will. ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/118 "2013-01-16T15:04:55Z")
> [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](#): > > No offense, but you’re kind of following the letter of his suggestion, rather than the spirit. Simply asking for definitions of everything and saying “why?” doesn’t serve to enhance your knowledge as much as self-reflection and attempting to generate your own perspective through research will. No, I am a fan of the Socratic Mthod and I am training myself to use it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/119 "2013-01-16T15:16:27Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > I’m actually back except I don’t plan on using the pit much more. Instead, I’m hanging out in “Great Debates”. That sounds “Great.” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998/120 "2013-01-16T15:19:07Z")
Socrates knew what questions to ask, and how to phrase the question to elicit the response he wanted. There is much more to it than just asking “Why?” like a confused owl. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zoos-locking-up-animals-just-isnt-right-specifically-referring-to-birds/646998.md?page=7)