• @RadicalCandour
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    5323 days ago

    To add to this, A lot of gorillas that are saved from unsafe/illegal conditions cannot go back into the wild. Places like The Rotterdam zoo provides a lot of enrichment for these animals that you won’t see at say, Joe’s roadside animal park.

    • @rah@feddit.uk
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      322 days ago

      Why not save animals from unsafe/illegal conditions and provide enrichment, without turning the animals into an attraction?

      • Liz
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        1622 days ago

        Because the attraction rallies support for preserving and protecting their natural habitat. Zoos act as promotional centers for conservation.

        • @rah@feddit.uk
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          -622 days ago

          Zoos act as promotional centers for conservation.

          But they aren’t necessary for conservation. Conservation can occur without zoos.

          • Liz
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            822 days ago

            Yes, but conservation is not a binary condition. Zoos are responsible for more conservation than we would otherwise have without them.

              • Liz
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                121 days ago

                Not in a binary sense, no. Such thinking isn’t useful, however. Zoos are a very strong net good fot animals, with minimal downsides (assuming the zoo keepers aren’t calloused assholes).

                  • Liz
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                    121 days ago

                    Yes I’m well aware of the difficulties involved, but they can be mitigated, as your source explains. There’s more issues than just keeping them from going stir-crazy, but a proper zoo (the only kind I advocate for) will do their best to address all of them.

          • @TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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            322 days ago

            I love when people like you suddenly come up with a hot take that absolutely no one has ever thought through ever in the past hundreds of years.

      • @wahming@monyet.cc
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        722 days ago

        Because people wouldn’t support spending their taxes on it without making them aware of the value. Which is done by educating them.