The Pro-zoo camp...

Clearly, and to some extent understandably, there is a segment of the population that hates a zoo. I'm not in that clan. I think zoos offer an indispensable connection to animal life to an increasingly urban and desensitized public. This kind of contact is easily as important as art or music to a species as fundamentally creative as our own. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of autistic elephants, inbred tigers, or clinically depressed gorillas being shown off like Las Vegas showgirls. I think a lot could be done to improve the zoo experience for children, adults, and animals alike. The rules of confinement are always a slippery slope - I feel that no expense should be spared in making captive animals happy. I do, however, have some extremely controversial ideas about what that might entail. More on that to come...