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I have no problem with zoos, if the animals are cared for properly and have the ability to get out of sight of zoo visitors. However, not all zoos are like this. When I was a kid, it seemed like all zoos were examples of how not to take care of animals.
I was about six years old when I first visited the Cherrybrook Zoo in Saint John, NB. I'd never been to a zoo before, and was very excited. I was especially thrilled to visit the petting zoo, even though I lived on a farm and had grown up playing with a vast assortment of critters.
When we got to the zoo, we admired the tigers, llamas, and camel. A llama spit at Mom, and a tiger tried to pee on her. I thought this was pretty funny. But when we got to the goat pen, I got upset. "Look, Mommy!"
The hooves on the goats were very long and curling. The goats walked back on their heels, with their hooves twisting up in front of them like genie shoes.
Mom was furious, and we marched straight up to a zoo worker. She demanded to speak to whoever was in charge of the goats, and said that she wasn't leaving the zoo until those goats had had their hooves trimmed. And if they wouldn't do it, she'd do it herself, and she would report them to the SPCA.
Finally, a vet was brought in and the goats were taken care of under my mother's watchful eye. I haven't been there since I was a kid, but I've heard conditions have vastly improved.
Several years later, I went to another zoo. This one was the Woolastook Zoo outside of Fredericton, NB. Once again, I was excited, but the thrill soon wore off when I saw how the animals were kept. Owls and eagles were kept in cages too small for them to do any flying. Four or five pacing wolves were kept in a pen the size of a typical living room. A small cage the size of a rabbit hutch contained a raccoon which looked like it had been dead for several hours. And the goat problem was revisited, this time on a moose.
Once again, Mom demanded someone get in there and trim the moose's hooves. Although in this case, it looked like it might be too late. The moose's legs were twisted so it was hobbling on its ankles. This time, the workers refused, saying that in the wild, no one trims a moose's hooves. "Yes, but in the wild, a moose isn't contained to a meadow the size of my driveway. It has miles of rocky ground it can walk over to wear its hooves down."
Mom reported the zoo. I don't know if anything was ever done for the moose (it probably should have been euthanized). I don't know if the zoo is still operational. I sure hope not, at least, not anything like it was.
I was about six years old when I first visited the Cherrybrook Zoo in Saint John, NB. I'd never been to a zoo before, and was very excited. I was especially thrilled to visit the petting zoo, even though I lived on a farm and had grown up playing with a vast assortment of critters.
When we got to the zoo, we admired the tigers, llamas, and camel. A llama spit at Mom, and a tiger tried to pee on her. I thought this was pretty funny. But when we got to the goat pen, I got upset. "Look, Mommy!"
The hooves on the goats were very long and curling. The goats walked back on their heels, with their hooves twisting up in front of them like genie shoes.
Mom was furious, and we marched straight up to a zoo worker. She demanded to speak to whoever was in charge of the goats, and said that she wasn't leaving the zoo until those goats had had their hooves trimmed. And if they wouldn't do it, she'd do it herself, and she would report them to the SPCA.
Finally, a vet was brought in and the goats were taken care of under my mother's watchful eye. I haven't been there since I was a kid, but I've heard conditions have vastly improved.
Several years later, I went to another zoo. This one was the Woolastook Zoo outside of Fredericton, NB. Once again, I was excited, but the thrill soon wore off when I saw how the animals were kept. Owls and eagles were kept in cages too small for them to do any flying. Four or five pacing wolves were kept in a pen the size of a typical living room. A small cage the size of a rabbit hutch contained a raccoon which looked like it had been dead for several hours. And the goat problem was revisited, this time on a moose.
Once again, Mom demanded someone get in there and trim the moose's hooves. Although in this case, it looked like it might be too late. The moose's legs were twisted so it was hobbling on its ankles. This time, the workers refused, saying that in the wild, no one trims a moose's hooves. "Yes, but in the wild, a moose isn't contained to a meadow the size of my driveway. It has miles of rocky ground it can walk over to wear its hooves down."
Mom reported the zoo. I don't know if anything was ever done for the moose (it probably should have been euthanized). I don't know if the zoo is still operational. I sure hope not, at least, not anything like it was.
