By Gary Yourofsky, ADAPTT
(Animals Deserve Absolute Protection Today and Tomorrow)
If zoos really cared about animals, then why do they serve DEAD animals at the refreshment areas?
- Zoos are animal prisons. No more euphemisms!
- When people say, "But zoos save endangered animals," the truth is, "99
percent of all the animals at the zoo are UNENDANGERED. If zoos were only
saving endangered animals, no one would complain. But zoos are a business.
In fact, zoos are usually the #1 tourist attraction in every state.
- No matter how "natural" they make the animals' caged-in areas, once zoos
RE-CREATE an area, it is NOW artificial and UNNATURAL. No amount of
architecture can RE-CREATE a NATURAL habitat of old-growth forests, fallen
branches, plant species and other animal species.
- When people say, "But the zoo is so educational for children, they learn
so much," the truth is, "The only thing kids learn at the zoo is that
giraffes have long necks, zebras are black and white and the monkeys have
pink butts! PERIOD!" There is NO education taking place except the cruel
education that teaches kids it is okay to dominate and enslave animals and
put them on display for amusement, entertainment and follies. It is much
more educational to read about animals from people like Jane Goodall and
Dian Fossey, who studied animals in the animals' habitats and learned about
THEIR natural behaviors. Or one can learn about animals through
documentaries on National Geographic. But one cannot learn about animals who
are in an UNNATURAL habitat displaying UNNATURAL behaviors from the stress
of confinement and lethargy of captivity, which can also lead to neurotic
behaviors like pacing and self-mutilation.
- Zoos are created for PEOPLE, not animals. Take the Detroit Zoo and look
at all the space for picnics and the refreshment areas and the
trolley/train. Meanwhile, the animals are being driven insane in their TINY
- If zoos really cared about animals, then why do they serve DEAD animals
at the refreshment areas? Seems to me that if the zoo was trying to teach
kindness and respect for animals, the least they could do is make sure
people aren't eating dead ones in a bun. The zoo would be an ideal place for
- When people say, "But animals are being poached in the wild and they
live longer lives in captivity," the truth is, "longer lives never translate
into happier lives." And poaching can be solved if we crack down on
poaching, make hunting illegal ― since poachers are hunters and that's where
they learned the bloodsport of killing animals with guns and arrows ―
protect their habitat and start sharing this planet with our four-legged
companions. The solution to poaching is NOT removing animals from their
land; it is removing poachers from the land. It is also done through
teaching people about the vegan lifestyle. If people were vegans, there
wouldn't be a need for ivory, seal penises (aphrodisiacs) and whale blubber.
It always comes back to veganism. And if the land is being demolished
through sprawl, the solution is to STOP destroying the land, not removing
animals from free places and putting them into an enclosure.
- Zoos should be transformed into sanctuaries at this point in time. And
that means no more visitors. No more picnic areas. No more huge walkways. No
more refreshment areas. Let these animals live out their lives by giving
them EVERY INCH of space on the grounds and then build ONE virtual reality
auditorium where people can come and take a virtual ride through the jungles
of Tanzania or the wastelands of Asia.
- Nearly every zoo sells its "surplus" animals to canned hunting farms or
research labs or circuses. And most zoos have circus acts where animals
perform asinine tricks in mini arenas. "Surplus" animals are the older
animals that no one wants to gawk at any longer. The reason there are
breeding programs at zoos is to make sure there are always baby animals in
order to attract a bigger crowd. No one wants to see old elephants or old
zebras but EVERYBODY wants to see baby elephants and baby zebras. In the
defense of the Detroit Zoo and Ron Kagan, Ron changed these practices at the
Detroit Zoo. The Detroit Zoo no longer has animal acts or sells any animals
to hunting farms, labs or circuses. Kagan is without a doubt the most
progressive zoo director on this planet. In May of '04 Kagan even agreed to
release the elephants at the Detroit Zoo to an elephant sanctuary.
- Without freedom there is no reason to exist! Zoos have taken away the
animals' freedom and made them living skeletons. The pride is gone. The will
to thrive has vanished. The feeling of happiness faded. The thrill of
endless miles of roaming has been usurped. Every thing that is natural to an
animal, has been made UNNATURAL by the state-sanctioned animal prison system
that operates for one reason and one reason alone; the almighty dollar.
- People love to talk about animals at the zoo having veterinary care as if that justifies their imprisonment. Prisoners have medical care, but that doesn't make people want to line up and book vacations to federal penitentiaries! Prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have medical care and I don't see people planning Christmas vacations to Cuba. Of course animals at zoos have vet care. Without a "product" to put on display, one cannot make a profit. Animals are fed and watered and receive medical treatment. Still they have no freedom, and no forests.