AR-News: (US) It's no longer a (traditional) zoo out there w/poll

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

The Christian Science Monitor
 June 15, 2004 edition 


By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor 

CHICAGO – For Wanda and Winky, this fall will bring a new home, warmer 
weather, and spacious grounds. For visitors to the Detroit Zoo, it will mean the 
loss of a big - several wrinkled tons, actually - attraction. 
The zoo's recent announcement that it won't keep its aging Asian elephants 
because it can't give them the space, companionship, and climate they need has 
caused more than a few ripples in Detroit - and the zoo community nationwide. 
After all, a zoo without elephants?
Is there ever a good reason to keep a wild animal in captivity?
Yes. Humanely treated animals provide valuable educational opportunities.
Yes. Zoos can provide refuge for abandoned or endangered creatures.
No. Wildlife belong in their natural habitats, not confined in zoos.
   


                                                                            
But in a world in which goldfish have their own vets, horses get spa 
treatments, and a number of communities have espoused pet "guardianship," the Detroit 
Zoo's decision is one more sign of humans' changing relationship with animals.
Zoos nowadays are as apt to evoke sympathy for the caged creatures as 
curiosity. People are both more aware of animals' needs - emotional and physical - 
and less willing to tolerate abuse. Between vocal animal rights campaigns and 
hit films like "Free Willy" and "Finding Nemo," a fundamental shift is taking 
place in public consciousness: Animals are being treated, essentially, more like 
humans. "It's like we're waking up from a deep cultural sleep," says Tom 
Regan, an animal rights ethicist and author of "Empty Cages." Animals are 
somebodies, not somethings. That's what I think we're waking up to."

full story:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0615/p01s03-ussc.html 

 
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>' .' 
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