Animal Affinity

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If you *really* have an affinity for animals you would not visit the zoo!! !! . They are basically animal prisons .

Just another reason why I *much* prefer animals to humans .

Oh and I like dogs too but I think I'm more inclined to like cats more.

zoos are places where we can learn from animals and breed them and raise funds and awareness for animal projects, animal prisons is a narrow view to take of them and i enjoy the zoo and taking my son to the zoo....we cant all live through the internet.

I was trying to think of a nicer way to say something like that, but your point is taken.

I agree that zoos can do some good. Charging the public to see them is merely a fundraising program. The real work is education towards caring for the animals. Many zoos are part of habitat restoration and refugee animal 'holding' and relocation programs. Worth supporting, I'd say.

In the future, animals will only be found in zoos.

Why do you think animals are bred in Zoos??. For their benefit - no, mainly because they have been hunted half to extinction, and/or their habitats destroyed . Do you think it's fair to fence up a wild animal and have it gawped at day, in day out?.

Who says we all live through the internet, by the way??. I have worked for most of my life, including running an animal rescue shelter. There are many ways we can learn about animals without holding them captive.

at least dogs like me

They arent fenced up.

Yes, definitely a strong affinity.

Zoo animals couldn't be released into the wild, anyway, not without training; they're semi-domesticated, now. Some of them are third-generation zoo animals, or even more.

Animals don't have a sense of "freedom" like we do; but they're big on comfort. So if the environment provided in the zoo gives them what they need--food when they're hungry, privacy when they want it, as much room as they want, companionship--then they can easily be happier in the zoo than they would be in the wild. Think of the benefits--no predators, food whenever you want it, protection from bad weather and drought and food shortages... for those who are nearing extinction in the wild, it could be a chance at continuing the species.

Then there are benefits for humans: Learning animal behavior in order to help their wild counterparts; general knowledge, added to our collection of information and used later on to our and the world's benefit; and bringing people who live in cities closer to nature.

Saying it's cruel to put an animal in a comfortable zoo is like saying it's cruel to keep a pet... Of course, if the zoo just cages the animal and expects it to be happy, then shame on them, and I'd agree that it's cruel. Zoos are much better nowadays, though; and as far as we can tell the animals are at least as happy as they'd be living in the wild.

Yes I found ever since I was a kid I was far more comfortable about hugging a dog than hugging people. I also could not tolerate people hugging me at all. Especially strangers.

Paul

I agree with everything Callista just said. You have to understand that these days, most animals in zoos are given as much interesting stimuli as they want or need--toys, games such as hide-and-seek for food, other members of the same species if they're a social species, etc. No one is just sticking them into an enclosure, feeding them, and charging admission anymore.

And please for the love of whatever deity you may or may not worship, do not say that keeping pets is cruel, as PETA believes. I have seen the difference between feral cats and dogs and those living in households, and in every case the pets lived longer and happier, more fulfilling lives than their mangy stray counterparts in addition to being much less of a nuisance to humans (in the case of dogs).

I can easily recognize cats by looking at their faces. But I can't recognize most people, even my friends.

When I was 6-8 years old, I thought I was a cat, not a human. I couldn't play with children, I played with other cats. I used to say "me and other cats". I didn't understand that I am wrong. Today I am 20 and I have many enemies, they don't want to forget it, they still think that there is something wrong with me, because of this.

I feel more secure around animals. They're predictable and they can't hurt me, emotionally or piss me off. I'd rather be alone with my Dog, for a Month than be in a room full of druunk, rowdy people for an Evening. Chico doesn't care if I eat small Meals, if I buy another Routie, If I watch an Austin Powers DVD for the Tenth time, or if I have a compulsive need to be doing Chores. He loves me, just the way I am. He curls up right next to me, he puts his Head on my Knee and he looks at me, with his big Brown Eyes.

Kasey(my cat) always wander into my room when i'm watching a movie or doing my homework. Then Nikki(my dog) comes in and lies on my bean bag. Followed by Ash(my sister's cat) whom i have to throw out because he bites my toes and only my toes. I hate watching movies with other people though;except when i'm at the movie theatre. When ever i'm sad or angry my cat can cheer me up by just walking in the room. If a person walks into the room then I leave angrily. I had a dog when I was younger who would only follow me around and sit outside waiting for me to come out. If she bit me then she understood that I was sad and in a way would apologize. I cried more when Alice (my old dog) died than when my own grandpa or grandma died

Not many people mentioning fish, i keep rare tropical fish myself i find the water fascinating.