PETA: Better Dead Than Zoo'ed

Verto · August 27, 2003, 19:13

I read an article from US News and World Report about 11 elephants from Swaziland that are going to be sent to the San Diego Zoo and a Florida zoo to "pose for tourists and a little lovin' with a mate". However, PETA and 9 other animal-rights groups said that death would be better than life in a zo, and started a legal wrangle trying to stop the transfer. The article says "after Swaziland said the 11 would be killed if they weren't exported(because the herd is destroying the habitat needed to sustain rare black rhinos), the animal rights groups said 'just kill 'em'.

"If the elephants are euthanized," said animal laywer Katherine Meyer, "that would be a better outcome than to have these elephants...live the rest of their lives in captivity."

monkspider · August 27, 2003, 19:20

Damn PETA, Zoos do so much to help with various conservation programs and so forth.

General Ludd · August 27, 2003, 19:49

Quote:

Originally posted by monkspider
Damn PETA, Zoos do so much to help with various conservation programs and so forth.

Not neccisarily. Alot of zoos are no better then circuses.

Nubclear · August 27, 2003, 20:01

Says the one who bans meat!!

chequita guevara · August 27, 2003, 20:20

Most zoos in the world are nothing but animal prisons. Rather than send them to the U.S., send them to other parts of Africa that have poacher problems so the can rebuild their herds.

Americans zoos tend to be better than most, but not all of them are. While some zoos help preserve animals that are being threatened with extinction, the same thing could be done with sanctuaries (which typically give animals a lot more space to live).

PETA is correct on this one!

General Ludd · August 27, 2003, 20:55

Quote:

Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar
Says the one who bans meat!!

That's right, I know what I'm talking about.

mrmitchell · August 27, 2003, 21:02

PETA "is a needed organisation that got bastardised." (Quote from Sloww with the spellings corrected.)

However, the quality of the Zoo should be inspected before they just turn it down, and at least if they continue on there's the slight chance they'll return to a wild some day.

Japher · August 27, 2003, 22:15

PETA are a bunch of idiots!

In that case, all the rats and other animals we use to test drugs on that need to be killed were going to go to the zoo, but we knew you wanted us to kill them

So stop bugging us!

Pekka · August 27, 2003, 22:19

I think you know.. that these PETA people are prisoners of their own mind, and that's worse than death.. should we just kill them for their own good?

Asher · August 27, 2003, 22:21

Quote:

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
PETA is correct on this one!

So the death penalty is better than life, for animals.
But life is better than the death penalty, for humans.

Japher · August 27, 2003, 22:22

Quote:

should we just kill them for their own good?

Only if we force them to have their pictures taken with those pesky humans

Pekka · August 27, 2003, 22:24

Shi Huangdi · August 27, 2003, 22:27

??? In all the zoos I see most animals, especially large ones are given vast areas to live and I don't see why they couldn't be happy there.

Japher · August 27, 2003, 22:29

The San Diego Zoo is one of the best in the world... PETA members would be happy to live in the conditions that the animals there do...

Pekka · August 27, 2003, 22:29

Shi, agreed, I haven't seen a zoo that is cruel to animals. There's a zoo near I live, and they have BIG areas to animals, and they seem to have a good time, and the staff seems to take good care of them and playing with them too.

MrFun · August 27, 2003, 22:31

In front of the public, staff may appear to take good care of them.

But how do we know what happens out of our sight?
I'm not in agreement of PETA by any means, but on the other hand, we can't make assumptions either way, can we?

monkspider · August 27, 2003, 22:44

I agree Shi, all of the zoos I have been to have shown a great deal of love and care to all the animals, big and small. Granted, i have only been to a couple. But my impressions of zoos is very positive.

Pekka · August 27, 2003, 22:48

MrFun, hey that sounds like a childrens movie..
The animals in the zoo are normal... but group of 8 graders find out, that the EVIL zoo owner hates the animals! And when the gates closes.. the animals are afraid because the EVIL zoo owner teases them and is evil. So they have to rescue them from the evil zoo owner, because adults just don't believe it's true!

Kuciwalker · August 27, 2003, 23:01

As others have said, the San Diego zoo is the very best. Unless you want to see animals. It costs money, and you see mostly plants

Oerdin · August 27, 2003, 23:04

Quote:

Originally posted by Osweld
Not neccisarily. Alot of zoos are no better then circuses.

I assure you the San Diego Zoo is recognized as a world leader in animal care. I mean these guys do everything to keep the animals happy and entertained plus it is one of the larger zoos in the US so there is lots of room to roam and they spend money to have the enclosures look and feel like the natural enviroment. There's also the San Diego Wild Animal Park where there are no cages and the animals are allowed to wonder free over several hundred acres.

Oerdin · August 27, 2003, 23:13

Quote:

Originally posted by Japher
PETA are a bunch of idiots!

Amen brother man.

That's been proven to be true here more times then I can remember.

MrFun · August 27, 2003, 23:15

Quote:

Originally posted by Pekka
MrFun, hey that sounds like a childrens movie..
The animals in the zoo are normal... but group of 8 graders find out, that the EVIL zoo owner hates the animals! And when the gates closes.. the animals are afraid because the EVIL zoo owner teases them and is evil. So they have to rescue them from the evil zoo owner, because adults just don't believe it's true!

Part of being an ADULT is being reasonably skeptical.

try it sometime

Sava · August 27, 2003, 23:16

I wonder if all the "PETA ARE IDIOTS" people have experience in zoos... my guess is not...

Oerdin · August 27, 2003, 23:19

Sava: Do you know anything at all about PETA? Have you ever read any of there press releases? These guys are ****ing nutjobs; just read one of the dozens of threads we've had on these psychos over the last year.

Sava · August 27, 2003, 23:21

Quote:

Sava: Do you know anything at all about PETA? Have you ever read any of there press releases? These guys are ****ing nutjobs; just read one of the dozens of threads we've had on these psychos over the last year.

don't get me wrong, I think they are nutjobs... but they aren't 100% wrong in the things they say...

remember... OJ did it AND the police are racist...

PETA may be wrong, but I doubt one person in this thread has had enough experience in a zoo to know...

CerberusIV · August 28, 2003, 06:01

For one glorious moment I thought this thread was proposing euthanasia for PETA members!

FWIW Elephants are very intelligent. They have a track record of getting rid of zoo staff they don't like - permanently. And it always looks like an accident.

You only have to watch a few of the "behind the scenes" TV programmes about UK zoos to realise how well animals can be looked after.

Sikander · August 28, 2003, 07:28

Quote:

Originally posted by CerberusIV
For one glorious moment I thought this thread was proposing euthanasia for PETA members!

Wouldn't that be wonderful?!

General Ludd · August 28, 2003, 07:51

Quote:

Originally posted by Oerdin

I assure you the San Diego Zoo is recognized as a world leader in animal care. I mean these guys do everything to keep the animals happy and entertained plus it is one of the larger zoos in the US so there is lots of room to roam and they spend money to have the enclosures look and feel like the natural enviroment. There's also the San Diego Wild Animal Park where there are no cages and the animals are allowed to wonder free over several hundred acres.

I wasn't sepcifically talking about San Diego Zoo - the comment I was replying to was about all Zoos in general, and alot of them are extremely barbaric. And, treatment aside, all zoos put their animals on display (that is what a Zoo is) and/or make them give rides, do tricks, ect... just like a circus. That doesn't help build appretation for life or raise awareness of conservation, it does the exact opposite - it turns animals into novelties and sideshows. That was the main point of my post.

chequita guevara · August 28, 2003, 11:25

Quote:

Originally posted by Oerdin
Sava: Do you know anything at all about PETA?

I have half a mind to believe that the most outrageous stuff PETA does, it does to get press attention. Let's face it, they get a lot of press for a protest organization. People then look them up, and find out all of the good thing PETA does, like trying to get rid of animal acts in circuses (where the animals are horribly abused-why I only go to humans only circuses, like Cirqeu du Soliel).

TheStinger · August 28, 2003, 11:29

All the Tigers etc from animal circuses should be relaesed into non animal circuses then hopefully they can all go away.