tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post7651298931741941942..comments2023-09-02T11:54:16.253-04:00Comments on Healthy People, Healthy Planet: To zoo or not to zoo, that is the question.Andy C.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-71376284141313031272011-06-06T12:03:43.111-04:002011-06-06T12:03:43.111-04:00Lynn - I hope that these issues get more and more ...Lynn - I hope that these issues get more and more press. The Toronto Zoo is going to retire its elephants within the next two years (something like seven of them had died in the past 25 years) and I expect that in good time, they will do the same for some of the other animals.Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-6448002191479165172011-06-06T11:21:17.520-04:002011-06-06T11:21:17.520-04:00Hey Andrea, I've definitely come to those same...Hey Andrea, I've definitely come to those same issues when I visited the zoo last. It felt inhumane for the animals for the reasons you described. That Ecomuseum sounds like a really awesome idea! I would love if zoos were more like that.Lynn Fanghttp://upcycledlove.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-5012800634541330982011-06-06T10:57:12.639-04:002011-06-06T10:57:12.639-04:00Jennifer - I'm glad I'm not the only perso...Jennifer - I'm glad I'm not the only person who feels torn about this issue. Is there more that zoos and museums could be doing to get the environmental message across? Does telling kids that exotic animals are endangered lead them to care more about preserving the habitat of indigenous species? What messages do people actually go home with after a trip to the zoo?Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-68582602177337082872011-06-05T18:32:11.700-04:002011-06-05T18:32:11.700-04:00I had some of the same thoughts when I visited the...I had some of the same thoughts when I visited the Cal Academy earlier this year -- no big animals, but lots of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds. On a moral level, I wondered if the awe I felt at meeting the eye of a chameleon was worth keeping an animal in captivity. On an environmental level, I wondered if all the resources being expended on this museum were truly educating visitors on the need to value and preserve our planet. I didn't come to any conclusions, but I totally understand the guilty pleasure feeling of seeing magnificent animals in the setting of a zoo or museum.Jenniferhttp://noteasytobegreen.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-5884888797234457862011-06-03T15:29:04.943-04:002011-06-03T15:29:04.943-04:00I skipped the macaques but noticed that the exhibi...I skipped the macaques but noticed that the exhibit was powered geothermally, which is exciting. What an interesting application for this technology!Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-79222736495987055932011-06-03T10:21:26.472-04:002011-06-03T10:21:26.472-04:00Did you get a chance to see the lion-tailed macaqu...Did you get a chance to see the lion-tailed macaques exhibit?! This is the first exhibit at the Toronto Zoo to use geothermal energy, which is wonderful, and hopefully will lead to more environmentally friendly ways to heat and cool exhibits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-25487296834028807232011-06-03T07:37:48.274-04:002011-06-03T07:37:48.274-04:00Lori - Yes, it seems cruel. The one thing I apprec...Lori - Yes, it seems cruel. The one thing I appreciate is that most of the animals who need a lot of social contact are in the company of a few other members of their species, so at least they're not alone in their misery.Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-14214311070430057132011-06-03T07:35:39.051-04:002011-06-03T07:35:39.051-04:00Urban Girl - I highly recommend that you visit the...Urban Girl - I highly recommend that you visit the Ecomuseum Zoo next time you're in Montreal. It's not downtown but worth the trek to the suburbs (just like the Toronto Zoo here).Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-89485710769562608652011-06-02T22:45:21.803-04:002011-06-02T22:45:21.803-04:00Happy Birthday Andrea! I have always had a hard ti...Happy Birthday Andrea! I have always had a hard time at the zoo. So many animals kept in small spaces far away from their native climates. Seems so cruel. I want to set them all free like the monkey in Goodnight Gorilla!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-38847479057486354062011-06-02T17:45:57.411-04:002011-06-02T17:45:57.411-04:00That's great - I never had heard of the Ecomus...That's great - I never had heard of the Ecomuseum Zoo in montreal before! nice!Urban Girl - Heartfelthttp://greeneststuff.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-50757882611189809592011-06-02T10:57:46.923-04:002011-06-02T10:57:46.923-04:00Thanks for commenting, Angini! Thankfully the elep...Thanks for commenting, Angini! Thankfully the elephants will soon be relocated to somewhere more comfortable for them to "retire". I can't imagine how depressed they must feel over the colder months to be cooped up indoors in buildings that are much smaller than their outdoor enclosures. Even humans get cabin fever over the winter in Ontario, and most of us were born and raised in this climate!Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-82120133591854537982011-06-02T10:25:08.451-04:002011-06-02T10:25:08.451-04:00I'm not a big fan of seeing animals in captivi...I'm not a big fan of seeing animals in captivity, especially birds. It broke my heart to see the state of the elephants at the zoo. I wanted to rescue them. In this climate it's harsh to have animals who are not indigenous to this region exposed to it and then spend so many months in confinement.anginihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260616236152692641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-22237853470257439192011-06-02T09:26:41.794-04:002011-06-02T09:26:41.794-04:00Agreed. A few thousand people driving to Scarborou...Agreed. A few thousand people driving to Scarborough to see a caged Sumatran tiger is better than a few thousand people flying to Indonesia to see one in the wild. And I'm glad the Toronto Zoo has been making changes to minimize its carbon footprint. I'm just questioning whether animals from other continents should be on display here. We're trying to eat food grown close to home and buy products made where we live, why not focus our conservation efforts on our indigenous animals?Andy C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/09594193387964718173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6645035685408630604.post-49265997211110022802011-06-02T08:57:05.521-04:002011-06-02T08:57:05.521-04:00Kitties! Big kitties... good pictures!
I agree wi...Kitties! Big kitties... good pictures!<br /><br />I agree with you about the potential harm of zoos, and in the olde days they were certainly a travisty... but I think modern zoos (at least MOST modern zoos) do a much better job of actually fulfilling their assigned role. Helping wildlife and all that... and for us peasantry who can't afford a trip to Thailand to see tigers, I would allow a certain expense. The Toronto Zoo is taking steps in the right direction: using clean energy and green roofs and the like to minimize their impact, so their hearts are in the right place.<br /><br />But I would also agree that there shouldn't be zoos all over the place, and that they have to be careful with how they're run.Marcnoreply@blogger.com