Got a burning unpopular opinion you want to share? Spark some discussions!
I had a conversation with someone, and I didn't know this was such a heated issue. Turns out, there's this idea that zoos are bad for wild animals that I wasn't aware of.
It's kind of dumb to say that zoos harm animals when they do the exact opposite: shield from the horrors of the world that no one can deny (poaching, habitat erasure, extinction, etc.) and the benefits of being on the same campus as zoologists and exotic veterinarians.
People seem to have a lot of misconceptions that come with being spoon-fed misinformation from vegan outlets: things like "muh animal care" when zoos literally care for animals, or "muh freedom" when I couldn't hear a single argument that convinced me that this was a relevant issue (my question that remains unanswered is what would an animal in the wild do that's different from what an animal in a zoo does, save for the constant running from death and disease.
I'd like to hear some views on this... I don't know if this is just typical "instagram crap," but the comments were so full of people that thought that zoos were pure evil that I thought I had to post it on here.
Edit: fuck this blew up -- must be my most popular post on this sub. I'll try to get as many responses in as I can! Please bear with me!
Edit 2: I'm seeing a lot of comments about "bad zoos," and I totally agree! I think those zoos should change or be burned or something. I'd like to steer this conversation toward good-faith zoos mostly because that's the majority in the West coast, or any zoo that affiliates with the AZA (which tend to be the most successful). I don't know if I'm moving the goalposts too much (i.e. if bad zoos existing is a valid argument to support the removal of zoos' influence and control over animals, please let me know!), but that's mostly where I'd like the discussion to take place.