My in-laws were visiting recently. During their visit, they took my niece to a nearby animal “safari” park, where people can drive their vehicles through an enclosure full of free-roaming African animals. I am very uncomfortable with this park. It seems to me that it is the sort of place that could be immediately shut down without thinking too much more about. On the other hand, there is also a large and apparently well-managed zoo nearby. I went to that zoo several times as a child. It gave me an appreciation for animals that I think I might not have developed otherwise. I would hesitate to call for its immediate closure.

I agree — I just answered “not sure” on that last question.

Re: zoos. I’m sure many zoos employ people that genuinely care about animals, but there are a number of issues that just don’t sit well with me. The obvious is taking wild animals like tigers and elephants and keeping them in captivity for people to gawk at. I’m skeptical of the idea that letting people see the animals in this environment really changes many minds. And, even if it does, is that a justification? I’d much rather see zoos go away and true sanctuaries pop up in their place.

Beyond that issue is the way many zoos operate. For instance, I know of a very well-known zoo that sold (sells?) its older animals to canned hunt operations. Is this standard practice? I’m not sure, but knowing that such a large and well-respected zoo did such a thing makes me very wary of zoos, no matter the size.