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Originally Posted by QuickSilver  Zoos have put a tremendous amount of work figuring out how to keep animals stimulated. I'm sure there's a long way to go, but it's not just, "throw the animal into a cage and hope for the best." Again, zoos in particular have come a very long way in the past 25 years. Generally speaking, zookeepers *love* their charges: they have essentially dedicated their lives to animal husbandry.
Training for orcas (or any animal) benefits the animal directly because the animals enjoy training. Animals like having their minds stimulated too. Referring back to the "Animals Make Us Human", training stimulates and satisfies the SEEK drive.
Indirectly, of course, it helps us understand orcas better, which benefits us and helps us understand how better to care for the world. It's the basic motivator behind any type of scientific research.
FYI, it is extremely difficult to study whales in their natural habitat - because they spend a lot of their lives under water! Again going back to dolphins, which I know more about, they appear to have a wide array of living arrangements and food gathering techniques, but it's difficult for us to observe anything that doesn't happen right offshore. A lot of people do not like tagging dolphins / whales with tracking devices, as they fear the tagging process is traumatic, and that other animals may react to them. Since they have echolocation, they can actually see INTO each other, so even a device that is subcutaneous potentially can cause a problem.
Of course length of life does not necessarily equal quality of life. However, we tend to forget that most animals spend their lives in rather desperate circumstances - they are trying to avoid being eaten alive, or starving to death. Being safe and well-fed are not things to take for granted.
I do think that zoos help foster respect for wildlife. It's one thing to read about a giraffe, and another thing entirely to see one. After all, children are the ones who really love zoos, and I think it helps shape the love for all types of animals. |
This is so well put, but oh so wrong-headed. It all reads like so much spin to me.
Generally speaking, I'll agree that zoos have come a long way. My disagreement would be that there are many species that do well in captivity but there are also many who do not. Whether we can provide an adequate habitat for them to live naturally should be the over-riding criteria as to what species we hold captive. It is inherently cruel to hold some species captive, no matter how much their keepers love them. And, as a point of correction, it is
not animal husbandry. That is a term reserved for domestic animals...not wildlife.
You speak of animals benefiting directly from training. While true in some cases, let's get specific and relate this to orcas (since that is the subject). Would you compare the benefits of training compared to, ummm....let's see...how about freedom? And, could you explain what useful knowledge we are acquiring by their continued captivity in a circus environment?
You speak of the 'desperate circumstances' that wild animals endure like we are doing them a favor by capturing them. How in the world would you explain to an orca that he is better off in a fish bowl begging for scraps rather than being in the ocean? Nature operates with a perfect cruelty that has sustained a balance for millions of years without man's interference. Our attempts to intervene are feeble by comparison.
I'm not against zoos for certain species. There are some that do thrive in that environment. Also, well designed aviaries and aquariums (for fish, not whales) can be educational without disrupting the creatures natural life.
I also think it is important to have captive breeding programs for threatened species. The bald eagle, red wolf, brown pelican and the condor are just a few that owe their existence to these efforts. These programs, however, have as a goal, to return these animals to the wild. I also support wildlife rescue and re-hab programs.
What you are doing with your post is to somehow equate benign captive programs with
keeping a whale in a fish bowl. There are no equivalents to this and it is one of the most cruel machinations mankind has come up with. Whales are held captive for amusement and there is no getting around this.