Wild animals belongs in the wild, anything short of that is irrelevant. If the kids wants to see them tune to National geographic channel
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Wild animals belongs in the wild, anything short of that is irrelevant. If the kids wants to see them tune to National geographic channel
Although I agree on some level with you. Sadly that is impractical. The wild is no longer safe for our animals and zoos right now are the only answer to most species. I, as a zookeeper, wish for my animals to be in the wild but the idea of them being slaughtered for products, entering farms, starving to death due to no food and taken for the illegal pet trade haunts me daily. Every 8 hours a Rhino is poached as an example and that is only one species. Animals are going extinct because we are hunting them legally and illegally, until the wild is safe zoos will be and are the only answer. There are good zoos and there are blinking awful zoos, there are good sanctuaries, there are blinking terrible sanctuaries. Every day I ensure my animals are fed well, have the best veterinary care, are clean and warm, are bright and alert, are provided with enrichment for them to behave as their wild coursing would, are trained to reduce stress levels when the vet is around, are safe from the public. Knowing all of this allows me to happily go home each night knowing that those special animals that are an insurance policy for the future, whilst WE as an industry, sort the mess out that humans have done to the planet and everyone else including the famous animal rights charities sits and bashes our amazing industry on the internet with outdated information. I hope that perhaps one day you will come face to face with one of my colleagues and see for yourself how much we love and care for our animals, as well as how the animals are managed. I do not want my children to only see these incredible animals in zoos or on TV, I want to see them living wild as they should. At the rate we are going, that is becoming more unlikely.
