Zoos: good or bad??

[Siobhan]

What do you think of zoo? do you like going to them or do you think they are cruel?

I like them, I know it is the only way myself and my kids will get to see animals outside their natural habitat.. I also think that the weaker animals in a clan has a better chance of survival in a zoo then in the wild

What do you think and would you allow your children go to a zoo?

[Katy]

Im not really sure, i dont have that strong opinion on it. I think Zoos dont treat the animals bad as they dont have to perform or anything and they do get treated well, well they do at Chester Zoo anyway. The space is reasonable and its not to crowded.

I do prefer like Knowleys safari park though as theres more freedom for the animals even idf your car does get scratched to pieces.

My mums school is used for polling day so for the last three years they have one to the zoo and there has never been anycomplaints. And if it was me then yes i wouldnt have a reason not to letr my kid go.

[pookie1968uk]

i dont have a problem with them and think they have saved a lot of species that would otherwise be extinct.

[alan45]

If it wasnt for zoos and Safari Parks how many of us would have had the chance to see these animals at close quarters. Modern Zoos are well run and regulated. The animals are well cared for.

[CrazyLea]

I'd be a hypocrit if I said that I thought they were bad, as I enjoy going to them . So long as there's plenty of room for the animal, and if they seem happy, and they don't have to do anything they don't want, then fine.

Saying that, there's a mini zoo near me, and it's horrible, because the cages are so small. And they have penguins, and there little play thing, is incredibly small, it's unbelieveable, seeing as they have quite a few penguins. The chimps cage is tiny, hardley any room for them to play or whatever, I'll see if I can find a pic :p

[Chloe O'brien]

I used to think that zoo's were horrible places to keep animals as I believed that animals should be allowed to roam free in their own environment and not be locked up in a cage. But in today's society no animal is free to live in it's natural inhabitan and more and more animals are becoming extinct and the only way us and our children can learn about them is to visit them in zoo's.

Nowadays zoo's are far more equipped to care for animals than they were 20 or 30 years ago, animals are living longer and are a lot happier.

[Abigail]

I love zoos. You can look at pictures of animals and the telly however many times you like but it's not the same as seeing an elephant or bison up close.
The best zoo I went to was in Hannover, Germany. It was huge and had so many species of animal. They had about 20 elephants in a walled enclosure and they must have been pretty well trained because the wall wasn't that big and they could've just walked straight over it.
It's a good way to teach children that animals need to be cared for properly and how to look after them.

[Abi]

If its a choose between Zoos, and animals being killed by poachers in the wild, then i would say Zoos anytime.

[Abbie]

If its a choose between Zoos, and animals being killed by poachers in the wild, then i would say Zoos anytime.Now that is a very good point but sometimes I feel like myabe the animals dont have enough space in the Zoo's

[Kim]

I'm in the middle.

I don't think it's fair for an animal to have to live it's life in one, I wouldn't like it, and animals have a life as well, but if the animal wouldn't be able to survive in the wild due to an injury or if the species is in danger of becoming extinct, they need to be protected.

[Abigail]

I'm in the middle.

I don't think it's fair for an animal to have to live it's life in one, I wouldn't like it, and animals have a life as well, but if the animal wouldn't be able to survive in the wild due to an injury or if the species is in danger of becoming extinct, they need to be protected.

I think a zoo or safari park is a far better place for seriously endangered animals, such as some species of tiger where there are only a few hundered left. If they were left to their own devices in the wild some animal species would be extinct by now, either by poaching or illness/injury.
Fair enough, animals bred in captivity very rarely return to the wild because they don't have the survival skills and instincts to cope. That means that eventually endangered species will only exist in zoos but if it stops them from dying out altogether then I'm in favour.

[Grant_fan]

there are some really horrble zoos i have been to a couple that the animals are not happy and the whole zoo is really to small. the chimps had a cages that looks like a dog kennel.

The best zoo there is monkey world they have a big park for all the animals to play. the other good zoo is colcested zoo that was really billiant all the animals are happy

i would let my kids go to a good zoo.

[JustJodi]

I have good and bad thoughts,,, I have a problem with the birds,, I hate to see those beautiful creatures in a cage,, some times I see them staring at the sky, I want to go and free them,, then at the same time I look at where they come from,, places where people are tearing down rain forests ( their homes ) or water foul... their homes polluted or taken over by industuries or homes,, same goes with the animals,,
Hubby and I are big patrons for the zoos here in Holland, we have seen 6 zoos so far and we try to do the ZOO crawl during the time all the kids are in school,, so we can move around freely rather than be around abunch of kids....................:rolleyes:
So the Zoos are good and they are bad,,, so I am just going down the middle here,,,
As Alan said Zoos are better equipped these days to take care of the animals than they were about 10-15 yrs ago..:searchme:

[Siobhan]

I love Zoo too and got to atleast 3 a year.. dublin one and 2 in germany

[Richie_lecturer]

If it wasnt for zoos and Safari Parks how many of us would have had the chance to see these animals at close quarters. Modern Zoos are well run and regulated. The animals are well cared for.

Fully agree. It's the same for circuses too, on the whole.

[Pinkbanana]

I think that a lot more energy and money should go into preserving the habitats of endangered species, and combating the reasons why they are killed by us humans. Then hopefully we can go about phasing out zoos.

When people in this thread have written about the only time a person might get to see a wild animal is in the zoo, then that’s pertaining to the needs of the human and not really about the needs or what is best for the animals. I believe that everyone (animal and human) have rights, and wild animals shouldn’t be captured for the purpose of being put on public display.

I would say I disagree with zoos in a perfect world, but seeing as it isn’t, then I do concede they serve a purpose.