The "Alma Park Zoo" thread does a good job of comparing two ****** zoos, but as Nigel points out on that thread...no matter what anyone thinks of Alma Park it is far superior to the cesspool that is GuZoo.
Two weeks ago the AR bunch went so far as to accuse the Guzoo of sending animals into space. I am not making this up either.
The AR people will do and say anything at all to get the Guzoo shut down. Next on their chopping block is the Discovery wildlife park.
I assume by "the ARA's" you mean animal rights activists? In which case, you are sorely mistaken with the members of this board.
.That's the biggest problem with the ARA's,
As for "One thing I have learned about animals in 50 years of sharing my life with them, is that so long as they have full bellies, a comfortable place to sleep, and freedom from pain and fear, animals don't give two hoots what something looks like...".
May I ask what animals you worked with at London Zoo?
You just shot yourself in the foot mate!
I have respected your arguments and opinions up to this point, but this I can't accept. In the perfect world, there would be no need for zoos. But this isn't a perfect world, at zoos are here primarily to ensure the survival of endangered species, and as a secondary purpose to educate the visitors so that they themselves will become passionate about saving the planet's wildlife.
And yes, the animals DO care! Animals can get bored and stressed just like us. I'm not trying to say that they have all the feelings of a human being, but they are not stupid either. They need a certain quality in life to stay happy and content.
Kangaroosget very agitated when someone works on a roof or up high near their exhibit. We had noisy school groups yesterday and one of the roos became so stressed we needed to give her a mild sedative to calm her down. Today the children were just as noisy but I had people she "trusts" in the vicinity and she remained fairly calm. When the roos are spooked they immediately go to the paddock and the barn--their safe area. If that gate is closed they remain highly agitated.
freedom from pain and fear.
Primates kept away from other primates can become increasingly neurotic. Giving them lots of enrichment may help alleviate some of the stress. Some primates do well looking in a mirror, others are threatened by that strange animal!
I also worry about the message that housing these animals in shoddy or sub-standard conditions sends to visitors, particularly children. It would seem to say that animals don't deserve anything better--they're just animals after all. Maybe it's OK to treat people the same way? They're not all that important, are they? It would seem to say that the owners can't be bothered to do the very best for the animals that are their livelihood and that it is OK to collect money from visitors to visit animal slums.
Enrichment doesn't have to be expensive or all that complex. Fresh browse, hiding food, making a paper mache ball to hide treats, straw or haw with treats hidden inside, edible flowers, pasta strung on a piece of grapevine, etc. Perhaps the friends of the zoo could help with some of these things to make the animals lives a bit more enjoyable??