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Wildlife on Display
Topic Started: Jan 28 2010, 01:10 PM (443 Views)
Locke
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That one guy
The headline in my local newspaper informs people that baby tigers are on display in a local mall and that for a $25 fee, people can play with the tigers for a period of time. The funds are meant to support a not-for-profit "Exotic Animal Park."

I tend to find it somewhat exploitative. The website for the zoo, which has 156 large cats, says that none can be released into the wild. Why do I think it exploits the animals? I don't think that wild animals are meant to be pets or treated in that way.

What do you think?
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Wesley
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I say good for those animals, they've landed themselves free food, no danger of being hunted and killed by other wildlife or people, and if they happen to get hurt, free health care for them haha. So when I look at it, the animals get all that, and the people get their money to make better places for the animals, a win win situation.
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Eccentric Feline
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I'd much rather see money going towards rehabilitating and returning wild animals to the wild, where they belong. But at least they are being taken care of.

What I don't like is the fact wild animals have become so familiar and "tame" that kids (and adults for that matter) loose all respect for them. Most attacks you hear about is when a person was poking at something, or playing around, or just getting too close; and suddenly it's the animal's fault. It doesn't know any better... it's instinct, and people should respect that. Sure baby tigers are adorable, but they grow up and aren't just huge stuffed animals. They are dangerous predators that need they're own space. People really need to know how to respect nature, and I'm not quite sure opening up a "petting zoo" is going to help matters much. =/
Edited by Eccentric Feline, Jan 28 2010, 09:02 PM.
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Locke
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That one guy
I understand that zoos have done a lot toward preserving some species and that there are no habitats left for certain animals. I just know that I've read about the high depression rates among animals in captivity and so I am hesitant to support something like this mall exhibit. Many zoos are doing great things for their animals, by making the cages less cagey and more like the natural habitats -- bigger, more realistic, with things to do -- but there are still many places where that is not the case.
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helloworld
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It's a complicated matter. I work with raptors (birds of prey) up at Cornell. We try and rehabilitate and release as many as possible, but we have several birds who just can't be released. One is a hawk whose wing was broken so badly that he can never fly again. By no means have we "tamed" him, but we have trained him on a glove, and students do hand feed and handle him every day. We also take him around the campus for education programs.

I definitely think animals should be rehabilitated and released back into the wild if at all possible. That's always the priority. But if they are injured so badly that they could never hunt or survive in the wild, it's best they have a home, then be killed. I don't exactly support the idea of having anyone who wants "playing" with the animals, but I think if the animal can bond to one or two handlers, affection can't hurt (from people trained responsibly). Most animals show affection towards each other in the wild, so if they are in captivity, bonding with a human like they would with another animal could be good for their mental health.
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