ethics

The title just deserves a separate thread. Elephants are not people, rules Colorado Supreme Court I think we really need a shame prize for the worst animal-related charity in 2025. I hope the Cheyenne zoo did not lose much money on this silly lawsuit.

So I know normally, new zoochatters (especially younger males, like myself) slowly but surely reveal their dream of starting a zoo; with a checklist of big game animals and exotic birds desired for display. I have a more controversial one: to be a sourcer of live wildlife for reputable zoos and...

This thread is about wild and zoo animals which voluntarily enter, stay or return to their exhibits. To show by examples, that animals do not understand nor desire 'freedom', but are strong materialists, going whenever there is food and safety. A striking example is from Stuttgart zoo, because...

Wilstem Wildlife Park is a roadside zoo in Paoli, Indiana. The park has a variety of ABC animals, including giraffes, grizzly bears, and both African and Asian elephants. Interestingly, their elephants were not listed on elephant.se, nor were they listed on any of the North American elephant...

I thought ZooChatters might appreciate these recent papers exploring ethical interpretations of conservation and the biodiversity crisis. The first focuses on other species, whilst the second addresses potential human costs. Both are brief, open-access, non-technical, and sufficiently...

Hi, I am doing a research investigation on zoos- a 3-fold investigation centered around the contribution/value of the most reputable zoos w.r.t. (1) Conservation –where conservation naturally refers to in-situ conservation; and therefore I will be tackling the topics of extirpation, captive...

Hello everyone :) As part of my ethics assignment, I'd like to include an up-to-date poll on people's opinions over whether polar bears should be housed in UK zoos? This is a topic I am very undecided upon myself, however I would love to hear all of your views on the matter. I understand...

I've seen several websites discussing how cetaceans (especially orcas) and elephants don't thrive in captivity, often with a quite emotional text and emotional (as well as sometimes slightly photoshopped) images of animals looking sad. This huge focus on how saddening and cruel it is to keep...

Imagine this situation: A genetics laboratory somewhere in the near future finds a way to bring extinct human ancestors back to life. The scientists can create as many specimen as they will, the revived species will be healthy, we know exactly what to feed them etc.. The question is: When...