Sinners and Strivers: On the Ethical Question of Zoos

Most people who know me know that I have a very good, near impeccable memory of events (as opposed to dates or more trivia type of memory i.e. I would be terrible at jeopardy). This is not me simply patting myself on the back or trying to balance modesty with honesty. It is a cold fact that my memory is great. For example, I remember this from when I was very, very little: when I learned that we, as humans, should not drink out of dirty glasses after I had poured milk into a glass previously used for orange juice, the small remnant of pulp and saliva mixed with the milk making a concoction that makes me skeptical of both of these beverages even today. This is the sort of memory that we don't recall, but that we wonder about every time our stomach lurches when we see unclean glasses. The point of all this is to build credibility when I describe my first visit to the zoo, which might be seen by some as a "there is no way you could have known that as a child" moment or a "that's just hindsight" moment more specifically. Regardless:

I remember my first visit to the zoo, when it was just my mother and I. I remember the car ride being longer than it actually was and being incredibly excited to see "the animals", which I thought would all just be gallivanting around main walkways for me to pet and talk to and eventually take home. In the car I was drawing what probably looked like sad attempts at drawing people in Easter Bunny costumes, but to me was every animal the zoo would have to offer. I also distinctly remember the drawing making me sick and having to stop at a Burger King to walk around and also having to stop drawing for the remainder of the car ride, this again is only for credibility purpose. When at the zoo, I actually don't remember seeing too many animals, I remember the Tiger, the lions, the otters (who so appealed to my childlike sense of wonder I was convinced had cognizance beyond what people attributed to them), the elephants and of course, my favorite, the Rhino (the capitalization is actually a typo, but I'm leaving it, because I was that impressed by rhinos). My mom had to drag me away from the rhino exhibit, I remember her only appeal that eventually worked was telling me that the other animals would be sad if I didn't see them too. Curses mom, you had to appeal to pity. I remember feeling so much joy, I remember having felt like I learned a lot, but it is impossible to discern exactly what I learned now and I remember being sort of shocked that animals were there, in front of my face...walking around.

What I don't remember is sadness. I don't remember being upset that the animals were in pens or cages or "exhibits". Yesterday at work I was discussing zoos with some coworkers, one was named Liz, which I say now only because of her insistence that I not refer to her as an "unnamed coworker" when writing this. Her argument was the appeal to pity, one that I am so prone to fall victim to. She is disgusted with the institution of zoos, not that they house rescued animals, that's fine, but that they breed animals for the soul and solitary reason of being looked at in a cage, for mere entertainment. And please, when I say appeal to pity I do not mean that it was some half caste argument that only tried to evoke feelings, her argument was based in fact, that animals are bred and born in the zoo, to exist in the zoo and live their lives for our pleasure, education and entertainment, which is unfair and therefore should factually appeal to our emotional side, spurring us to hate zoos.

And I think it's a fair point, one that another unnamed coworker and I could not seem to dissuade her of. Not for lack of trying either, we brought up article after argument after article after google search. For example, it is true that tigers in the wild have problems with inbreeding due to humans destroying all of their habitats, in order to try and remedy this problem there is a complex and massive global network of zoos breeding tigers in order to add variety to the gene pool and subsequently stabilize the tiger population. The same is true for other endangered or ecologically vulnerable species such as rhinos, polar bears and elephants. Apparently though, according to Liz, this is not worth the animal living life in captivity, which is a hard viewpoint to change. Should humans be playing God and raising animals for purposes they see as important?

My answer is still yes. Although in an idea world I would like to see massive ecological reform, habitat rehabilitation and people letting tigers exist naturally in the wild, it is simply not happening. The fact is we would lose the entire population of tigers if the zoo did not launch such expansive measures to ensure their continued survival. I am of the firm belief that if one part of the human population is being so disgustingly reckless to have endangered or eliminated the existence of an animal, it is the ethical and moral responsibility of other sectors of the human population to, in an act of accountability, do everything in its power to stop or reverse any process or action that led to this.

IN SHORT: I am willing to posit that the life of a tiger in a rapidly declining environment, a life wrought with starvation and lack of available mates and shelter, in other words a life devoid of food, sex and shelter, is worse - significantly, irrevocably, horrifically worse - than an artificial life in which all of these necessities exist. Is this argument enough to dissuade Mrs. Elizabeth George? Probably not, but it isn't for her lack of reason, it is in fact because she is a kind person that simply wants the best for animals and people alike and no one can blame anyone for such a desire.

ASIDE: The reason for the story in the beginning is because I want everyone to know that 1) I am an avid animal lover 2) I have sympathy for the appeal to pity as evidenced by my mother's ability to use it against me at the rhino exhibit and 3) I thought it was kind of cute and memories always help me get started with these things. My reasons for explaining the reason behind the story in the beginning are fare more numerous, but include my wanting everyone to see this piece as more of an argument than an opportunity to talk about myself. Which I am simply doing now. Without further adieu, here is an awe inspiring picture of a tiger: