Animal Thoughts (ramble)

There are many different animal rights groups across the globe, some government sponsored and others just the people rallying for the ethical treatment of animals. Some people love and support these organizations, while some simply don’t care or don’t pay too much attention to this issue. I am one of these aforementioned people.

    It’s not that I don’t care about the treatment of animals, it’s just that there are way too many issues in my life currently that prevent me from having time to support these movements toward ethical animal treatment. So when something comes up about Seaworld not housing killer whales any more there really isn’t much I have in terms of an opinion. Sure, Seaworld’s choice is more than likely because of the backlash happening against it recently from animal rights groups, but I really don’t care either way. It’s just another business choice in the world that really has no effect on me or my life.

Now onto the topic of zoos, aquariums, and circuses. Zoos and aquariums have always been my favorite natural world attraction since I was a kid. They’re educational, fun, and a very interactive way of showing children the biological wonders of the world. Now, I do understand how some people would be concerned for the animals and their treatment by keepers, but the vast majority of the time the animals are well treated by keepers and scientists alike. Most keepers are even required to have a veterinary service background and know basic animal care to even be considered for application. Overall, zoos and aquariums are very good sources of education and entertainment that I feel should stay open whatever the cost in order to inspire a new generation to preserve the natural world around them ( and that’s even what most of these establishments are geared to do in the first place).

Then, there’s circuses. Claimed to be one of the many ways to rule Rome (Pomp and Circumstance, translating to bread and circuses) these mobile entertainment attractions have been entertaining humankind since the times of the romans. However, that doesn’t mean they are completely civilized attractions. Circuses often try to out do each other with the ridiculousness of their stunts and, while most human performers are fine with it, animals are forced against their will to participate in these seemingly ludicrous and insane stunts that are well beyond their capabilities. While I don’t think circuses should be completely condemned, at least have animal guidelines in place so that none of them are forced to do something that they naturally can’t cope with (in other words, horse riding is fine, but horse stacking is wrong).

In all, I am pretty much indifferent to everything involving animal treatment, however it would be nicer to see animals treated better in captivity as fellow beings than as ludicrously impossible to perform entertainment.