When I was a little girl, I loved going to the zoos. Unlike some of the children who go just to look at the animals, I wanted to know about them. I watched Animal Planet 24/7 and seeing the animals in the flesh was a dream come true. For much of my life, until I discovered that I was a horrible science student, I wanted to be a marine biologist. I love animals probably more than your average person.
When it came time to find a job, I wanted so badly to work at the zoo in my city. However, this zoo is fairly small and every girl in the world who likes puppies applies there. I didn't get the job and after reading what I have about zoos, I'm glad of it. I always thought that the people working in zoos did so because they had a genuine love for the animals, not just because they were looking for a paycheck or working for the bureaucracy. It truly upsets me to see that I may have been wrong in my assumptions.
With so many people applying to the zoo, it is hard for me to believe that somehow those who do not love the animals on a very deep level get hired when so many of us who have a true interest in animal welfare fall through the cracks. I would hate to think this is because many people who have a true interest in animal treatment and animal rights do not choose to work at zoos because they find them to the unethical. These animals are suffering in the first place because they have to be in zoos and then they suffer again because those who care enough about them to protest these restrictions on their liberties stay away from zoos. We seem to be fighting a losing battle here. The only thing to do is to come to a consensus about zoos, either abolish them or stop squabbling over their existence and work together for the sake of the animals. They are too precious to die because of our fighting.
My question for this blog is, would you ever work in a zoo now that we have examined the case for zoos not existing?
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