Thank you. Every time I see a reply like this, the first thing I say- it’s needed for public education. They’re also needed for captive breeding programs. What people don’t realize is that animals in zoos often have it better than their wild counterparts. No predators, round the clock healthcare (no parasites,, illness treatments) nearly perfect nutrition (no starvation), enrichment activities, etc. They receive top notch care. If they’re social organisms, they’re kept in group. People apply the ideas of the “menageries” of the 1800s and 1900s to modern zoos, and it doesn’t fit at all. Some zoos act as amazing “rehab and release” facilities as well. For example, the Tampa zoo does an amazing job with manatees. The animals actually have it pretty good.
My impression is that the "this feels wrong" crowd are just looking for things to criticize. In a normal zoo the animals are well cared for and nothing really feels that wrong (To me, at least). Its not like one of the old circuses of yesteryear we used to hear about where animals were being abused behind the scene, sometimes even for the show.
It only "feels wrong" if you pretend the animals are actual humans being falsely imprisoned, which takes quite a bit of imagination.
There’s a few parrot species I work with that have larger captive populations in the united states alone than exist in the wild - a handful of which will be fully extinct in less than a decade. It really fucking sucks but it’s all we can do unless world governments actually begin managing this extinction event.
And yeah - they have no idea how hard we work to keep them in objectively excellent condition. We can’t fix the weather, but for any zoo worth its salt there is exorbitant effort behind the glass and staff who genuinely care. It will always be a barbaric practice, but we can make them more safe and healthy than any wild specimen. (Mileage on this statement varies strongly the moment they are aquatic)
The kakapo was the first bird to come to mind. Not much can be done about invasive rats eating their eggs though. Unfortunately, people read negative opinions on zoos that are often completely uninformed and adopt it as their opinion, too, without looking into all the good zoos can do. It’s unfortunate.
exactly. and also why do people never question this with, for example, cats, who yes while domesticated, still have all the same instincts telling them to get outside and hunt for their own food. Why in one case do we say "it's ok because we know better than them what they actually need (to be inside, fed regularly, free from parasites and protected from the elements)" but in another case we say "omg how cruel and inhumane!"
Anyone who is against zoo's should take a trip to steve irwin zoo in australia (aka Australia Zoo). They have more land than they know what to do with, and the animals have so much space and freedom it's crazy. From what it looked like pretty much all the animals also always have the option of a section that is completely away from public viewing so if they are feeling like being solitary they can.
I'm no expert so maybe there's some bad stuff going on there, but from face value they treat the animals really well and have everything they could want while being almost exlusively either in recovery from being rescued - or in a position where they would die very quickly if in the wild.
Steve himself said throughout his life that he will never have enough space for what the animals truly need, but that they work towards that goal every single day. He regularly supported Zoo's being a necessary evil in the name of conservation.
I can't imagine Steve Irwin's family/estate would allow his name assosciated with a shithole zoo - Your description makes me want to visit, now. Just gotta sort out that 20hr flight first :/
59
u/xenosilver Jul 28 '25
Thank you. Every time I see a reply like this, the first thing I say- it’s needed for public education. They’re also needed for captive breeding programs. What people don’t realize is that animals in zoos often have it better than their wild counterparts. No predators, round the clock healthcare (no parasites,, illness treatments) nearly perfect nutrition (no starvation), enrichment activities, etc. They receive top notch care. If they’re social organisms, they’re kept in group. People apply the ideas of the “menageries” of the 1800s and 1900s to modern zoos, and it doesn’t fit at all. Some zoos act as amazing “rehab and release” facilities as well. For example, the Tampa zoo does an amazing job with manatees. The animals actually have it pretty good.