The first time I had to decide whether or not to take my son to the zoo was tough — one of those decisions you like to put off as a parent. Sure, parenting is all about making decisions – what to cook for dinner, where to send our children to preschool – but while some of those decisions are easy and fun to make, some are more challenging. My son, Elijah has grown up on a mostly vegan and all vegetarian diet. He is beginning to understand that there are certain things we don’t eat, but we haven’t gone too in-depth about his diet since he just turned three years old. Regarding the treatment of animals, we have always stressed to Elijah the importance of caring for and respecting animals, regardless of their size. Our amazingly patient and loving shelter mutt has helped tremendously with these lessons. Going to the zoo wasn’t even an issue until this past year when we moved to Philadelphia, which houses one of the country’s oldest zoos. Read on to find out what I decided to do when some friends invited us to visit the zoo.
Loading ...
Image © Flickr user bfhoyt
Going to the Zoo
Growing up, my family frequented our fair share of zoos, but the last time I went to one was over a decade ago. Animal rights played a huge part in both my husband’s and my decision to become vegetarian (me at 10 years old and him at 15). The vast majority of animal rights activists believe that zoos are not the right place for animals and that the environments at the zoo are unhealthy and unnatural. Unsurprisingly, PETA has a lot to say about zoos.
I would have been fine never going to a zoo again, but I wondered if, for Elijah’s sake, I should revisit the situation. A few weeks ago, some generous friends invited us as guests to the Philadelphia Zoo. Their membership covered our tickets as well, so I figured that since we weren’t exactly supporting the zoo, it would be a good time to make a reconnaissance trip to see if things were better or worse than I remembered.
We covered a lot of ground with our boys – we watched the sleepy lions, discussed the diet of gorillas, climbed on statues of bears. Elijah had a blast and honestly, I loved seeing how he reacted to each of the animals when he saw them. His excitement at seeing the animals (especially the larger ones, like the lions) was palpable.
Since the last time I visited, the zoo had transferred the elephants to a larger facility in another part of the state, reportedly because the Philadelphia Zoo was not able to raise enough money for a new, larger elephant habitat. I view this as a definite step forward, but is it enough? I haven’t had any formal education on the needs of animals including diet or roaming habits, but some of the enclosures seemed woefully small, and I can’t deny the fact that an enclosure of any size is an ill substitute for roaming the wild. I also realize that the likelihood of zoos only keeping the smaller animals, the ones that they can provide ample space for, is slim to none. Polar bears, lions, giraffes: these are the animals that sell tickets, that keep families coming back for more, so it seems unlikely that they will be removed and given safe haven.
Pages: 1 2
For some children going to the zoo might be only time they’ll ever get to some animals. Not to mention, for some animals, the zoo is the only safe place left for them. I wouldn’t impose my ethical dilemma on my children and risk denying them an opportunity to see animals they may never get to see again. The best that I can do is make sure the zoos treat their animals well.
I am thinking this, yes, animals in captive are not how they should live or be. However, it is educational to people to see them and learn about them, Moreover, some animals are being hunted and treated bad in the wild, so some of them might be better of in a zoo. I think the people that work at the zoo love the animals and give them the best care they can.
It’s pretty clear that using an animal for entertainment is explotation and wrong. Life in a zoo prohibits an animal from doing so many things that are instinctive. All creatures seek freedom.
Can we please stop saying “moms” when we should be saying “parents”? This isn’t an ethical dilemma for just moms. it’s for moms AND dads.
I think zoos provide a good lesson – because of what we’ve done to the environment, zoos are some of the last places some species even survive. The animals should be in the wild, but some can’t be anymore. Being able to see those animals and fall in love with them might be just what some people need to take the bigger lesson to heart and do something about it.