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Comment by elzbardico | Hacker News Reader

Most zoos nowadays are important research centers.

Besides that, they have an important educational component that surely contributes politically for conservation efforts.

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Big Zoos, yes. And they do some great research, as well as preservation and rehabilitation. But I've also been to a few small zoos in rural America that are essentially someone's private animal collection that they charge you a fee to see. I think those are less common than they used to be, but they do exist.

I don't think those can be considered zoos from your description.

And maybe stop going to them (you went to a few?) and they will become even less common.

Never seen one of those, but there's plenty of private animal habitats I've seen that take injured and stray animals.

Usually just ran/funded by someone who loves animals.

I went there as a kid. One visit was actually a school field trip. I have not been to one in nearly 30 years. And I should have more clearly said that I've only actually been to one, but have seen others while traveling. That was my mistake in saying that I've been to a few.

False dichotomy. If we wanted to, we could do both preservation and not lock them up.

It’s highly questionable if wildlife and habitat protection had the same level of political support if most people would only knew the affected animals from photos and nature documentaries. Zoos can have a lasting impact on people.

Poppycock. I could make the exact inverse argument. Perhaps animals being easy to access in a city makes people care less about them. "Who cares if it goes extinct in the wild, I can still see it at the zoo." Without any kind of practical evidence, you cannot know what effect zoos have. The only effect zoos have had on me is that I went to a local aquarium one time and saw a giant sea turtle swimming round a very small tank. The sheer cruelty of that stays with me. A creature which migrates thousands of miles in nature confined to a cage perhaps ten meters long. It is, without a doubt, one of the saddest things I've ever witnessed. I don't think anyone who can tolerate zoos actually cares about animals.

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