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would you want to be a zookeeper?

Eddi

Christianity, Taoism, and Humanism
Premium Member
Would you like to be a zookeeper?

I would, I love animals

It is one of my dream jobs

I would rather look after animals than plants, they are much more interesting because they move around and do things

Animals also have souls, unlike plants

However a big part of the job would involve shovelling ****

Also, there are some animals I really dislike, namely chimpanzees and gorillas although I like orangutans

And I wouldn't want to work with any animal that might kill me such as a lion, a tiger, or a bear, especially if it might want to eat me :eek:

My favourite zoo animals are pinipeds: seals, sea lions, walrusses

Some say zoos are unethical but I think they are good for conservation, research, and education

Would you want to be a zookeeper?

What animals would you most and least want to work with?
 

SalixIncendium

अहं ब्रह्मास्मि
Staff member
Premium Member
I've been to one where the animals were kept in a huge field and they seemed OK
Well as long as they seem OK, then all is well.

You clearly have no interested in learning anything about animals kept in captivity.

Carry on.
 

Eddi

Christianity, Taoism, and Humanism
Premium Member
Well as long as they seem OK, then all is well.

You clearly have no interested in learning anything about animals kept in captivity.

Carry on.
Zoos are vital for conservation efforts

Sometimes they are bad, like when polar bears go mad because of the temperature and the size of their enclosures

But keeping a rhinoceros in a big field that it can run about in is different

And rhinoceroses are as good as extinct in the wild so it's either have them in zoos or have them extinct

Their horns are very valuable, there is a lucrative trade in them
 

SalixIncendium

अहं ब्रह्मास्मि
Staff member
Premium Member
Zoos are vital for conservation efforts
[citation needed]

But keeping a rhinoceros in a big field that it can run about in is different
How?
And rhinoceroses are as good as extinct in the wild so it's either have them in zoos or have them extinct
[citation needed]

Their horns are very valuable, there is a lucrative trade in them
Please share the process that harvests them painlessly and how quickly they grow back.
 

Eddi

Christianity, Taoism, and Humanism
Premium Member
[citation needed]


How?

[citation needed]


Please share the process that harvests them painlessly and how quickly they grow back.


It is common knowledge that without captive breeding programs the survival of a great many species would be threatened whether you like it or not

I've watched loads of documentaries about zoos and captive breeding programs

It would be ideal if captive populations weren't necessary but they are

Elephants and rhinoceroses are especially vulnerable as criminals want their tusks/horns, there is a lot of money to be made by selling these and harvesting them involves killing the animals

Do you want certain species to go extinct? That's what you'd get without zoos

Not keeping captive populations is not an option if you want them to survive as a species

It is well meaning to oppose them but if it were up to me there would still be zoos

Those of us who care about animals cannot afford to be sentimental

Let's duplicate planet Earth so we have Earth A and Earth B

In Earth A let us keep zoos and in Earth B let's abolish them

Now, fast forward 200 years

I'm pretty certain that more species would be extinct in the Earth where zoos were abolished

We're not in an ideal world so we have to do things that are not ideal
 

libre

Skylark
Staff member
Premium Member
There is a facility here in Montreal called the Biodome that in my view is a relatively responsible Zoo which tries to emulate each ecosystem.
The seagulls eat like kings and they have a dedicated Penguin orthologist for Penguins that have feet issues.

That said, most zoos are run by 'Joe Exotic' types and should not be patronized in my view.
Working for one would be a good way to know how the animals were treated though
 

libre

Skylark
Staff member
Premium Member
[citation needed]


How?

[citation needed]


Please share the process that harvests them painlessly and how quickly they grow back.
I think OP is right in his suggestion that Zoos can serve the goal of conservation, despite the inhumanity.
Under capitalism if there is no profit motive to keep the endangered species alive, it will simply go extinct in a country that does not have a conservation budget or a sizeable community organized around that issue at their own expense.

Pandas I think are an example We pulled pandas back from the brink of extinction. Meanwhile, the rest of nature collapsed.

edit:
removed mention of trophy hunting, I got mixed up between links
 
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Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Would you like to be a zookeeper?

I would, I love animals

It is one of my dream jobs

I would rather look after animals than plants, they are much more interesting because they move around and do things

Animals also have souls, unlike plants

However a big part of the job would involve shovelling ****

Also, there are some animals I really dislike, namely chimpanzees and gorillas although I like orangutans

And I wouldn't want to work with any animal that might kill me such as a lion, a tiger, or a bear, especially if it might want to eat me :eek:

My favourite zoo animals are pinipeds: seals, sea lions, walrusses

Some say zoos are unethical but I think they are good for conservation, research, and education

Would you want to be a zookeeper?

What animals would you most and least want to work with?
Naw. I'd be scared of the lions or having a chimp rip my face off.
 

Eddi

Christianity, Taoism, and Humanism
Premium Member
@SalixIncendium

This is an interesting article


It has convinced me that captive breeding is good

But this thread isn't about the rights and wrongs of zoos, it is about whether people would want to be a zookeeper

I would

I would do so with a clear conscience

And only if I were convinced the animals in my care were having their welfare looked after
 

libre

Skylark
Staff member
Premium Member
I never said that!

I never said trophy hunting is OK

Trophy hunting is sick

Trophy hunters are absolute scum
Apologies Eddi.
I clicked a few links about the Rhinos and was reading something else got the webpage mixed up. I have edited my post

I agree with you that Trophy Hunting is sick.
 
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Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
Would you like to be a zookeeper?

I would, I love animals

It is one of my dream jobs

I would rather look after animals than plants, they are much more interesting because they move around and do things

Animals also have souls, unlike plants

However a big part of the job would involve shovelling ****

Also, there are some animals I really dislike, namely chimpanzees and gorillas although I like orangutans

And I wouldn't want to work with any animal that might kill me such as a lion, a tiger, or a bear, especially if it might want to eat me :eek:

My favourite zoo animals are pinipeds: seals, sea lions, walrusses

Some say zoos are unethical but I think they are good for conservation, research, and education

Would you want to be a zookeeper?

What animals would you most and least want to work with?

I wouldn't want to be a zookeeper, mainly for two reasons:

1) I consider the vast majority of zoos I have ever been aware of to overall be unethical, and I refuse to visit them on principle (unless I encounter one that is somehow able to avoid the ethical problems). I realize that some zoos have benefits, such as limited contribution to conservation of specific endangered species, but from what I have read, the downsides noticeably outweigh the benefits—and the same benefits can be, or at least should be possible to be, achieved through other means of conservation anyway.

2) I know that a STEM-centric career is what fits me the most, so I would probably be quite bad at being a zookeeper due to the extent of manual labor involved (especially given some physical issues I have).
 

Secret Chief

Degrow!
Would you like to be a zookeeper?

I would, I love animals

It is one of my dream jobs

I would rather look after animals than plants, they are much more interesting because they move around and do things

Animals also have souls, unlike plants

However a big part of the job would involve shovelling ****

Also, there are some animals I really dislike, namely chimpanzees and gorillas although I like orangutans

And I wouldn't want to work with any animal that might kill me such as a lion, a tiger, or a bear, especially if it might want to eat me :eek:

My favourite zoo animals are pinipeds: seals, sea lions, walrusses

Some say zoos are unethical but I think they are good for conservation, research, and education

Would you want to be a zookeeper?

What animals would you most and least want to work with?
I've been one (for a day!). Yes, it involved shovelling (pig **** actually) but it also involved getting up close and personal with red pandas. Would least want to work with bats, spiders or snakes. Would most want to work with (surprise surprise) big cats. A top experience of mine has been to hand feed an adult jaguar and tiger. (with an intervening meshing!). Fabulous moments.
 
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