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Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  I just can't buy that an undomesticated, wild animal, fish or bird with instincts to roam freely is every truly fulfilled or truly happy as it would have been living its whole life in any type of containment, especially if it is indoors, that would restrict said being beyond its naturally wild limits, often subjected to changing caregivers and lifestyles far removed from its wild kin . As far as endangered species, I can't help but bleed in my heart for the wild specimens we keep contained for their natural habitat, prod, poke, breed, study and watch for perpetuation of the species, so others can be free if the species survives. Do the ends justify the means? I think I think so right now but still wonder about how damaged an animal's actual long-term genetic and psychological health might be from all of the changing caregivers, wildly foreign objects and living/travel/relocation situations we subject them to while striving to 'save' the species. Imagine what a lovely, graceful giraffe must think about being loaded by handlers into a steel cage to travel in a van on a noisy freeway to get to an airport, loaded into a jet aircraft to fly across country to a new zoo for a 10 year lease program, after which he'll be loaded back up and returned, if he's still alive. He's genetically programmed to roam a quiet, free savanna as he lives his wild life, not deal with any of that.
Sorry to OP for highjacking your thread to wander off into another subjects but I suppose it all has to do with how we so easily seen to mistreat or mismanage our animals for whatever seems to serve human wants of the moment and whether or not it's the best or right thing for that one particular animal's health, welfare/safety, genetic/natural-instinct fulfillment and right to live as naturally as possible for its species. |
Mmm don't see it the way you would see a more complex thinking species like a human or even a mammal would really understand the concept of captivity that well.
Doesn't always apply, especially to wild box turtles, because they have homing instincts (built in compass/map) but things that have been captive bred don't really know any different as it's where they were born.
As long as their needs are met, most live happy lives. Do realize for fish, reptiles and amphibians 90% probably don't make it to juvenile stages, and even less make it to adulthood... So really, for them the lack of predators, the plenty of food, correct temperatures, and proper conditions in general is like the garden of eden for them.
From my understanding is, if you never knew the outside world if you never even knew it existed it wouldn't really bother them? Because to them it's non existent? Shouldn't ever release an animal that's been in captivity for some time out into the wild, that is how animal populations become decimated by whatever illness brought with them. Have to remember that captive animals have better immunity, thus better tolerance to illness, so whatever they become more immune to, their wild counterparts could not handle. Usually wild animals are riddled with parasites, and such. I would say all wild reptiles, fish and amphibians have parasitic loads. Just they deal with it, but to add another factor on top of it would probably wipe out the half if not, whole ecosystem.