# Are Zoos and Safari Parks cruel??



## Guest

Here is just one reason why I think they are 
Baby elephant &#39;cries&#39; after rejection by mother

I hate that while we hate the idea of a circus we are happy to go view animals in big cages that look more pleasent.

I never visit them anymore I went to Colchester zoo and was disgusted with how ill kept.The Housing was boring and small for many of the larger species. I saw boredom and depressed animals and the same at London Zoo.

Animals are still expected to perform to bring in profit for the zoos.
While I can admit that many zoo's and Safari Parks have changed with the times I just feel they have lost their vission and are more about profit and numbers then helping to research and save species.


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## Cleo38

I think some animals seem to cope better than others in zoos but generally I think that zoos are outdated & many should be closed as they cannot adequatley provide suitable environements for most animals. 

I also don't buy the idea othat they are contributing to helping 'save' certain species, all these captive breeding programmes may help boost numbers (& help boost visitors!) but there is little chance of these animals being released in to the wild.

I have been to a few zoos over the past few years (as my OH has 2 children) & really had hoped that things had changed but can honestly say I was disappointed at such poor progress.


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## sskmick

If you think zoos offer a poor standard of care for their animals today, seriously you should have seen zoos back in the 50s/60s. There was a zoo in Blackpool Tower that struck the fear of god in me as a child.

A male lion stuck in my head, two strides and it had to turn, straight metal bars, concrete floor completely bare cell. It was moulting really bad too. Even as a child I could see the pain and suffering of that animal. That lion was the reason I wouldn't entertain dog crates.

Knaresborough's private zoo was just as bad, absolutely horrendous conditions. The cages were clean but zoos back then were more like solitary confinement for the animals.

Chester zoo was marginally better as their enclosures were bigger. I remember seeing either a tigon or ligon there. Not quite sure of the purpose of that but it happen.

I don't think they are cruel a lot of the animals in captivity were born in captivity. I like to think improvements are being made on a regular basis.


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## StormyThai

Depends on the Zoo really...

We have a local one called Linton Zoo and I would love that place to be closed down for the larger animals. The reps and small furries all looked fine, but they just didn't have the space or enrichment for the big cats so they all looked stressed and bored 

You must have been to a different Colchester zoo to me, when I visited the enclosures were great, the animals looked happy and relaxed, there was plenty of enrichment in the enclosures... In fact when I last visited they had a gorgeous baby pygmy hippo on the ground, pygmy hippo's don't just breed anywhere ya know 

Of course it would be better for many of these animals to be out in the wild where they belong, but many zoo animals have been born into captivity so releasing them would do them more harm than good.

A couple of decades ago I would have been one of the first to stick my hand up and say that Zoo's were cruel....these days? Not so much.....


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## Guest

If the animals can't be released, what is the point in them breeding them? Money I guess as I don't see the point of breeding just to prevent extinction if the only place you will see them is in a zoo. Just doesn't make sense to me.


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## StormyThai

MLB said:


> If the animals can't be released, what is the point in them breeding them? Money I guess as I don't see the point of breeding just to prevent extinction if the only place you will see them is in a zoo. Just doesn't make sense to me.


That I do agree with tbh...


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## simplysardonic

Zoos just make me feel sad  we've destroyed so much natural habitat that some species only exist because of them, I don't find that an achievement, just horribly, horribly sad


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## lilythepink

I remember going to a zoo as a child, may have been Chester or could even have been Belle Vue. I remember a hippo in a stinking pool and I also remember a polar bear pacing and nodding its head. Very distressing.

I think some animals do ok in zoos and probably have a good standard of living but I think the big predators and some of the larger grazers struggle and shouldn't be there.

I think the worst thing I have ever seen was this past summer at a so called bird sanctuary.....not a sanctuary at all but a falconry centre with lots of beautiful birds tied to perches, horrible horrible.


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## noushka05

Damian Aspinall sums up the way I feel about zoos -

Mr Aspinall said: The fact that we have to keep animals in captivity is a sign of the abject failure of us as a species. The long-term goal should be that we do not need to keep animals in captivity.

The only reason to have zoological collections should be to protect endangered species and breed with the goal of releasing them into the wild. The idea that zoos should be for the education or entertainment of mankind fills me with horror.




.


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## rona

Of course they are cruel.
Anything that takes an animal out of it's natural environment permanently is one of the cruelest things we do to animals


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## Jenni2317

Zoos are definatly cruel, I went to Drayton manor which has a zoo and they had a pure black panther in a tiny cage it was discusting, its like me keeping my cat in a rat cage, it was just lying there in the middle of the cage not moving, I didn't let My kids see the poor thing we left the zoo straight away and I won't be going to another zoo ever! 
Monkey world that is on TV looks to be a nice place but is that just what they show on TV as it does save alot of primates.


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## medusabites

Uhm.... why does everyone have this bizarre view that the wild is some paradise of plenty, where animals seem to run in slow motion through meadows of perfection and live happy lives?
Have any of you ever watched a nature documentary?
Seems everyone I watched comes out with the same few lines "struggle for survival." "survived today but tomorrow is a whole new battle."
The wild is a disease ridden, parasite, predator, constant battle looking hell, yes it has beautiful moments but animals rarely if ever live out full life spans.
Also how can we as pet owners be against zoos, we contain animals in our homes the only difference is we have been doing it longer and slapped the label domesticated on to make it acceptable, before anyone says oh but a dog and cat blah blah blah... if there were not people your pet would revert back to its instincts to survive, the dogs and cats at Chernobyl did it, there are also other cases of abandoned dogs forming packs ect so they are not all so different from the wild canines and felines.
I am guilty of this to but atleast I accept what I am doing.
Now I am not trying to get anyones back up here, really I am not but seriously think about what is being said and the reality of the situation.
In the wild there are so many danger and poachers, not to mention the lack of habitats left for some of the larger animals, there are some zoos that are wonderful, London zoo, Longlete safari park, yes there are bad to but still it hasnt be better to get regular meals and vet treatment than be out in the wilds where your lifes constantly at risk?
Anyway I doubt this post will earn me any likes but it is to me a pretty sensible point.


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## StormyThai

medusabites said:


> *Uhm.... why does everyone have this bizarre view that the wild is some paradise of plenty, where animals seem to run in slow motion through meadows of perfection and live happy lives?*


Ummmm....
Please point to the post/s that say or infer this 



> In the wild there are so many danger and poachers, not to mention the lack of habitats left for some of the larger animals, there are some zoos that are wonderful, London zoo, Longlete safari park, yes there are bad to but still it hasnt be better to get regular meals and vet treatment than be out in the wilds where your lifes constantly at risk?


Ok then, lets just catch all the wild animals up and stick them in zoo's or safari parks...just too dangerous out there for these animals that have coped and survived for thousands of years without human intervention....While we are at it we should make sure all kids are boxed up and kept on chains...well...it's a dangerous world out there :skep:


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## simplysardonic

StormyThai said:


> Ummmm....
> Please point to the post/s that say or infer this
> 
> Ok then, lets just catch all the wild animals up and stick them in zoo's or safari parks...just too dangerous out there for these animals that have coped and survived for thousands of years without human intervention....While we are at it we should make sure all kids are boxed up and kept on chains...well...it's a dangerous world out there :skep:


But zoos & safari parks _must_ be better, haven't you seen all the stereotypies & other abnormal behaviours animals in the wild suffer from? Oh wait, they don't!


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## Cleo38

simplysardonic said:


> But zoos & safari parks _must_ be better, haven't you seen all the stereotypies & other abnormal behaviours animals in the wild suffer from? Oh wait, they don't!


I've been reading alot more about Seaworld lately & the behavioural & physical problems the Orcas have due to confinement in small, unnatural environments.

So sad, how anyone could justify these sorts of places is beyond me


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## simplysardonic

Cleo38 said:


> I've been reading alot more about Seaworld lately & the *behavioural & physical problems the Orcas have* due to confinement in small, unnatural environments.
> 
> So sad, how anyone could justify these sorts of places is beyond me


They suffer greatly reduced lifespan as well, contradicting the belief that all captive animals live longer as someone's stated!


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## cat001

I think the topic of zoo's and animals in captivity is a very interesting one. I've started work on researching the topic in depth, so will be interesting when I finely get to writing up that conclusion. There's often a lot of valid points and questions in these sorts of topics, but also some misinformation and knowledge gaps. Will post up my work once i'm done maybe.


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