gorillamom

Did you ever work at a zoo? Until you do you need not put them on such a pedistal, or are you someone from a zoo and trying to promote them? We have good keepers and do want the best care for the animals, it's managment we need to worry about. They are expert liars. We had one Zoo Director trying to tell keepers what they could and couldn't write in their research papers for which the keepers get grant money! Altered research! I wouldn't give Jim Fowler the time of day. He's a PR man, that's all. They are only reputable because the media told you so. Showmanship, something all zoos are expert at. My main beef is to stop the breeding. The people who make decisions for the animal care are not the keepers but the managment who have nothing to do with the animals but are business people. I know the very people you speak of. They come and give talks all the time. But have little to do with the actual daily care of the animals. It's all about money and breeding.

__________________

The Clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power,
To tell just when the hands will stop
On what day or what hour.
Now is the only time we have,
So live it with a will,
Don't wait until tomorrow,
The hands may then be still.

Refuge51

Dogs, cats and pet birds are domesticated...zoo animals in captivity are still wild.

gorillamom

Yes and these wild animals in zoos still rely on their instinctive behavior unlike our domesticated pets. I can't stop thinking of those poor primates in that research center and just wanting to rescue them.

__________________

The Clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power,
To tell just when the hands will stop
On what day or what hour.
Now is the only time we have,
So live it with a will,
Don't wait until tomorrow,
The hands may then be still.

OldManOnFire

This is a very subjective statement you make.

Many cats and dogs have instinctual behaviors similar to animals in the wild. Mating, prowling, hunting, etc. are easy examples of wild behavior. Yet we restrict many of our animals in apartments, or small yards, or in cages, etc. and we spay and neuter them, remove their claws, snip their ears and tails, etc. and horrific inbreeding, which to me is no better or worse than conditions at many zoos...

__________________
Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

gorillamom

I agree. Clipping, declawing, keeping them pinned up is not good. My animals go out when they wnt and come in when they want. And I live in an apartment. We are talking about the ills of zoos and why they need to make their records public. So you know what you paid for! You just don't get it. Stick to your econmics and leave the rest to those who understand and "KNOW" the truth and refuse to turn a blind eye to it.

__________________

The Clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power,
To tell just when the hands will stop
On what day or what hour.
Now is the only time we have,
So live it with a will,
Don't wait until tomorrow,
The hands may then be still.

Refuge51

If you took a wild animal such as a tiger from the zoo and let it loose in the woods, it would kill to find food. If you did the same to a dog or cat, chances are it would slowly starve to death. In fact, many drop off unwanted pets have died that way.

gorillamom

Yes, just ask my sister who lives out in the country and finds boxes of cats and puppies left for dead all the time. This Saturday the Humane Society is spaying and neutering for free if you are low income, so each of us are taking one of the cat's she has in to be fixed.

__________________

The Clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power,
To tell just when the hands will stop
On what day or what hour.
Now is the only time we have,
So live it with a will,
Don't wait until tomorrow,
The hands may then be still.

OldManOnFire

Are we the American public, and those who are in charge of business and government, ALL OF US, so inept, so uncaring, so calloused, so blind, that NONE of us can see how horrible zoos have become??????

There are wonderful things that have been done by zoos, both for the animals and the general public, for decades, in every country, and even though it (or nothing) is perfect, it appears to be a viable system. Stop trashing the goodness of zoos for the sake of a few incidents which surely are not the norm...

__________________
Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

You need to read about feral cats and dogs...

__________________
Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

gorillamom

Believe me, she has. And yes the public is blind. It "looks" good and yes the animals have it better than they did in the many years past, but there are things that they don't tell the public about how animals are dying, why, the spin they put on the truth, but the breeding is what needs to stop. Believe me, even if the breeding stopped right now, zoos will be here for many years to come. We had a Jaguar who killed his mother. It was upset from zoo construction. The zoo told the public, and workers, that the male was trying to "breed" with it's mother, she rejected him and he jumpered her killing her. He killed her in a panic, not because of breeding. Related animals are either put on birth control, fixed, or moved. And yes, some animals can take birth control. Like I said, you had no clue did you? Also when the Jaguar got a new exhibit, it was smart enough to know when no one was looking and chewed a hole through the metal mesh and finally got his head through before anyone noticed! You didn't know about that and neither did the public. Can you imagine what could have happened had that Jaguar gotten out? This happen more than you know.

__________________

The Clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power,
To tell just when the hands will stop
On what day or what hour.
Now is the only time we have,
So live it with a will,
Don't wait until tomorrow,
The hands may then be still.