Do you think animals in zoos are generally happy animals

[LynneSin]

Mind you let's assume that the zoo is well run although I suspect there are still zoos out there that poorly treat their animals.

I mean the pros for an animal living in a zoo is that it will always be well feed, have the best medical care should it hurt and it would no longer have to worry about being hunted (for those animals that are food for other animals). Todays modern zoos insure that there is plenty of space for the animals to live along with plenty of toys to play with to keep it amused.

The downside of course is the animal does live in a confined space and many times in conditions not normal to it's habitat (ie Elephants and camels don't normally live in regions of the world where there is snow).

What do you think?

[In_The_Wind]

1. No.

I wouldn't be too thrilled about being confined no matter how comfortable my surrounding seem to be.

[LynneSin]

2. True - but you and I have brains with greater capacity

I mean my cats seem pretty darn happy with routine.

[In_The_Wind]

9. Animals are smarter than we think.

Sometimes I wonder about my brain . . . as in What the hell was I thinking.

My chocolate lab was a rescue. I found her running the streets of Florence Alabama. She had been beaten (there were scabs) and kicked (it was difficult to walk past her in a small space). I gave her a home, food and a fenced-in yard. We've recently moved and now she is a house dog without a yard of her own. She's adjusting to her limited space but she whines to be outside. Is she happy? Yes & no.

My parrot wouldn't survive 24 hours without me but she will try to fly toward me or a window when she's frightened. She was born in captivity. She's never known freedom. She loves me but I wonder if she would be happier with a mate.

[img][/img] BTW ~ Your cats have it made. [img][/img]

[RebelOne]

3. Wild animals do not belong in zoos.

They belong in their own environment in the wild.

[LynneSin]

4. True, I can't imagine an animal that has lived in the wild for years could manage well in a zoo

but those born & bred in zoos probably couldn't survive as well in the wild.

[hifiguy]

5. An elephant or rhino in a reputable zoo is not going to get

poached for its ivory/horn.

[BlueJazz]

6. I don't see anything wrong with it if the animals are well taking care of,..

...Are treated with respect and have plenty of food.

Our Zoo, here in the Tampa bay area,even has a large space (2 city blocks) for certain animals to roam.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

7. I'm not sure animals can be either happy or unhappy

maybe there is something in them that wants to go over the fence and they've figured out they cant, but being able to reflect on that and think 'geeze, my life sucks, I can't jump that fence', well, I don't know...........

[pscot]

8. Not if these guys are telling the truth

[LWolf]

10. It probably depends on

whether or not they know any different.

Most zoo animals aren't born in their natural wild habitat.

[MrsMatt]

11. Agree. If they are born in captivity, their frame of referance

will be vastly different than those born and raised to adulthood in the wild.

Individual animals, however, will have different reactions - just as some domestic animals have more wild instincts, so may some wild animals have more domestic inclinations.

[hibbing]

12. depends

Hi,
I guess it depends on what kinds of animals you are talking about. I can't look at the big cats in zoos, they all seem to go psychotic with the pacing over and over and over.

Peace

[rDigital]

13. It depends on your perspective, but many of the more intelligent animals such as

elephants often get very depressed when in captivity.

[yawnmaster]

14. what is happiness? eom

[nolabear]

15. Having worked in one I have to say it's different for different animals.

When I did animal rehab we had a sanctuary/zoo for those animals that couldn't be returned to the wild. A HUGE and important part of the job was to try to keep them from going what I really would call functionally insane. But there's a lot required. A natural habitat, "puzzles" to solve with a food reward, companionship if at all possible, spaying and neutering, a varied diet, lots of things went into alleviating boredom and the nervousness engendered by being on display. Lots of prey animals are very timid and don't take well to being watched. The cats were actually fairly comfortable if we gave them a lot of variety. The wolves did well when together and poorly alone. Same for the bears, which I always thought was interesting since they tend to be solitary in the wild.

One of the things that would be best for the predators and raptors is something that nobody wants to talk about...they could stand to have something to kill. We used to give the raptors live mice now and then. It was hard to do but it was good for them and they actually do much better when they have bone and fur go through their systems.

I don't think any captive animal is completely "sane" in the way that no person who was kept forever captive would be like people who weren't, but I think some are content enough, and I am always heartened to see zoos that work hard to make habitats stimulating and as natural as possible. Elephants and primates may have the hardest time being as natural as they would in the wild, and they alwways make me a bit sad.

[Kennah]

16. Whether wild or captive raised, I think there is wiring in an animal's DNA

On some level, I think every zoo animal knows or realizes that something isn't entirely right about this situation. Perhaps it's not unlike the life of Truman Burbank.

[fizzgig]

17. the polar bears in the colorado summer break my heart

that's all i think of when i think of zoos