There are zoos today that are doing vital work in conservation of species that human activity has caused to go near-extinct.
Conditions need to be excellent, I agree, otherwise it's miserable, but most zoos have vastly improved from the bad old days.
If you visit zoos, do your research and only go to those ones that strive for optimal conditions and have breeding programs, rather than old-style "stick 'em in a walled enclosure until they die".
Zoos also no longer just take an animal from the wild -- in the bad old days they literally did just that, taking a wild animal from its habitat.
The animals in zoos today will have been the descendants of descendants of a conservationist breeding program.
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LeiaOfLothlorien (1980)
8 years ago
I do enjoy seeing animals, but I tend to stick to zoos that put some effort into keeping their animals happy and healthy. Most seem to be reasonable and have conservation efforts in place. I can't stand cages or concrete pits.
That said, I remember having to read an article for school on neuroplasticity or something and it mentioned a study where some animals were given "enrichment" (toys, natural habitat, live prey, etc), while others were stuck in a concrete enclosure with nothing to do. I was appalled that the latter still existed.
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