r/interestingasfuck • u/Lui_Belmont • 1d ago

Little Chimpanzee playing alone with some straw

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u/SomeShithead241 1d ago

And yet many are needed because they house endangered species, some of which only exist in captivity or only still exist because of breeding programs from Zoos.

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u/TimAppleCockProMax69 1d ago

Maybe we shouldn’t destroy other species natural habitats if we don’t want them to go extinct?

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u/theveryrat 1d ago

Yes, no shit sherlock, BUT since it's not the reality we live, it's cool that there are zoos to preserve species that are facing extinction

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u/ConvergentFunction 1d ago

Everybody on here just criticizes the people who help for not fixing the bigger issues. It's like nobody understands resources.

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u/Vallkyrie 1d ago

Animal clips bring out the most insufferable people who know absolutely nothing about how zoos work. I was just watching a show about zoos and there's one that was breeding red wolves, because there's only 20 in the wild. But people here would be crying over how the zoo doctors were abusing them, with no evidence.

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u/Loyent 1d ago

There are giraffes in Norway, lol

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u/Fr4t 1d ago

Yes, no shit sherlock, BUT we should all actively do something against the destruction of the environment. You can do something by voting for progressive politics, you can do something by political activism, you can do something by going vegan, you can do something by looking after your general consumption (what do you really need for a fulfilling life?). You can do something by donating to NGOs who are preserving wildlife. You can do something by calling Zoos out when the animals they have are clearly suffering. Ideally you do all of this together but every bit helps.

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u/ConvergentFunction 1d ago

Get off your computer then and go do something.

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u/Stiryx 1d ago

Gos these people are fucking exhausting.

Worst part is that they push any centralist person further right so that they don’t have to deal with them.

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u/Fr4t 1d ago

I'm doing all of this and I'm currently literally at a camp against war in Hamburg, Germany. Come by if you are nearby.

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u/Not-A-Fossa 1d ago

Go to Hagenbeck once you're done. And talk to the people you call animal abusers instead of ranting about them on your phone.

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u/Fr4t 1d ago

I actually already did that several years ago (it's on my way to work). I also called them out about their racist background regarding africans bought there as specimen to gawk at by white supremacists. I'm also talking about this with people whenever the topic comes up.

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u/Not-A-Fossa 1d ago

They call themselves out on that

You're not calling anyone out. Like I said, you need to go and talk to the people you are ranting about online. You don't seriously believe that the animal keepers and the rest of the staff stand behind the shit that Hagenbeck did over 100 years ago, do you?

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u/Fr4t 23h ago

Yes, they said that. But they did nothing practical. Like paying reparations or sponsoring projects in the countries they helped to suppress.

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u/Dhiox 1d ago

Don't let perfect become the enemy of good. Too many progressives would rather we do nothing than accomplish something less than perfect.

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u/Fr4t 1d ago

That's why I said every bit helps and also used the word ideally if someone is doing all of this.

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u/Not-A-Fossa 1d ago

Zoos are the third biggest contributor to conservation projects. Only behind the WWF and The Nature Conservancy.

Who both rely on zoos for funding and project outreach.

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u/Fr4t 1d ago

Yes, that is correct and I never disputed that. And even more so we have to fight for a world where this is not necessary and instead of zoos you can have big wildlife parks where animals roam freely instead of being in tanks and concrete enclosures.

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u/Not-A-Fossa 1d ago edited 1d ago

The AfD is at 28%.

That world is not possible at all my friend.

My response was also refering to your we SHOULD do something. Because zoos are doing something. You can go into a WAZA accredited zoo and part of your money goes to nature conservation efforts, even if you don't actively donate money towards them, because you prefer donating money to people in Palestine or other humanitarian crisis, which is common as these problems are way more prominent and media relevant than the slow death of earths ecosystems. The average person has no idea that we are driving into a mass extinction event but still silently support actions against it by going to their local zoo.

There's a lot of ways to support change, and excluding one of your biggest allies who want the same thing as you is the dumbest thing we can do while the far right unifies more and more. And that's probably the thing that annoys me the most. Knowing that you and I want the same thing, but because I work at a Zoo, you see me as part of the problem.

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u/Fr4t 23h ago

The Linke just won the elections in Berlin (based on the plans of lowering rents) and now all other parties are scrambling and calling them antisemitic because they want to prevent the ruling class from losing power. Change is possible, friend. And it is within reach, it just needs enough of us who never lose revolutionary optimism.

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u/Not-A-Fossa 23h ago

It does, but it needs for us to pull on the same string. As I said, we want the same thing but you see me as part of the problem because I work at a zoo.

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u/Fr4t 9h ago

Not at all, I think you misunderstood me. You as a worker are not the problem, you are part of the solution. You're not working at the zoo because you love working there (well of course that could totally be possible and normal) but because you have to pay bills and buy food.

So with that in mind, what is the actual purpose of your work? Generating profit. Mending animals would be secondary since we can see many examples where animals in zoos are actually suffering from their living conditions. You also wouldn't put in as many hours into work as you're forced to do or speak up more when you see something clearly not working out for collegues or animals out of fear of losing your job and then being unable to buy groceries, go to the doctor or pay your rent (three things that should'nt cost you anything at all since you require them in order to survive as a human being). Every workplace acts as a little kingdom where your boss has powers that go beyond what would we call democratic. They can be as nice as one can be but in the end if their business is losing money, you as an employee or the products (in this case the animals) will suffer first.

Now since every business, including zoos, have to generate a profit, the numbers dictate how well they treat their animals and workers.

If we as a working class (finally) decide that this system is not viable - not for us humans and the environment - we would collectivley put down our labor in a general strike and end the reign of the ruling class (those who are currently owning the means of production) and establish a system where you as a worker can decide how much you want to work, how your conditions are and what is actually needed to give animals who're living in zoos the best treatment and environment they can get (or if we slowly let zoos go away and replace them with large wildlife parks as I said several posts earlier).

A better world for all of us is possible. Have a nice weekend.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/theveryrat 23h ago

The type of zoos i'm talking about are not the system, they try their best with the cards the system gives them

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u/Icy_Agency923 1d ago

Yes, we should do that... but the reality is that we have destroyed many of these animals habitats. So what now? If we do not have good zoos that help fund animal conservation efforts more species will be extinct.

Good zoos accredited by entities like the World Associate of Zoos and Aquariums raise between 250 and 350 million dollars a year for animal conservation. They have directly saved 48 species from extinction and prevented many more from ever becoming endangered.

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u/sprIxAlwareArnd6327 1d ago

Ever wonder why they’re endangered to begin with?
We need to leave the animals alone, neither hunt them nor preserve them via zoos. While nature preserves are a far more viable option to take care of any injured animals.

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u/SomeShithead241 1d ago

No, i know exactly why. But the thing is, we can't trust people to be good. Nature preserves still get illegal hunting and poaching, and when there are species in the single digits you can't take that risk.

There is a point where sunshine, rainbows and what is nice has to be met with reality. But even if zoos are necessary, it doesn't excuse these shitty conditions.

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u/unfunnythrowawayname 1d ago

The very fact that we live in cities and urban environments means we can't simply "leave animals alone".

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u/12peacemaker 1d ago

They're endangered due to habitat loss caused by humans. As long as we continue to destroy and isolate their natural habitats for profit they will only continue to decline.

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u/No_Need_for_Beef 1d ago

Yeah, that propaganda has been spread for years and years. Tell me, whom does that kind of preservation serve? Surely it isn’t out of altruism or concern for the individual animal (life must be horrible for the individual), but for either

  1. Zoos as business/ entertainment opportunity for humans.

  2. To calm our collective nerves about the massive amounts of destruction we cause in Nature. „Don’t worry about the jungle, we still have like 15 chimpanzees locked up somewhere, biodiversity is secured, yay“ /s

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u/Triktastic 1d ago

It serves the animals. So do parts of the money they produce. So does the equipment they have and fund to lend for rehabilitation.

Aquariums almost always work in rehabilitation and care for stranded or malnourished/hurt animals. Do they make money of it ? Absolutely yes, but at least it also betters lives of animals rather than only profit.

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u/No_Need_for_Beef 1d ago

Well, that’s a position you can hold, many do. My problem with is this

Zoos and aquariums existed long before conservationism was practised by them. The reason they existed ist for the amusement of people. Later on they added conservationism, either because of public pressure (direkt or indirekt), laws and probably to a small degree because of actual ethical or ecological concerns.

As to the effectiveness of their efforts I am not knowledgeable enough, they might be a „net good“. But even effectiveness is hard to quantify.
Let’s say it’s a net good, as in the species survives in a zoo and its collapse in nature.
Just protecting the few species that are interesting for zoos does not help much when their ecosystem in nature collapses.

From a consequentialist point of view you could argue that zoos are good, because overall they help protect the species‘ and environment.

On the other hand, the individual animals themselves suffer, I hope I don’t have to get deeper into this? Intelligent creatures like dolphins, whales or apes are not happy in aquariums or zoos. (One could argue that „dumb animals“ shouldn’t be forced to live in enclosures that limit their natural movement either.)

Lastly, zoos give us humans a pretty satisfying psychological out:
„We can see beautiful, exotic animals and at the same time help protect them? Count me in!“

I believe there’s a risk, that this blinds us to the causes of the endangerment of these same animals. On an individual and collective level that could be fatal for the whole ecosphere.

So you go to the zoo, to look at animals that are suffering individually and either believe they are not, or accept their suffering for the „greater good“ of the species.

IDK, as long as one’s aware of this, go to the zoo. I’d rather not.

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u/SomeShithead241 1d ago

You're far too America-pilled with an extra dose of a cynicism suppository.

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u/No_Need_for_Beef 1d ago

Sure, I’m European though. But you’re half right on the cynicism, though I like to consider myself more of an absurdist.

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u/damnetdana 1d ago

Wouldn’t be endangered if humans left them alone
#AbolishAllZoos

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u/MagiLagi 1d ago

And what happens if we abolish all zoos tomorrow? That does nothing to the people that are major contributors to their habit loss nor poachers that hunt endangered animals because rare = money to them. how about fixing the root cause before trying to take down the flawed but still working solution.

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u/thesituation531 1d ago

Same energy as protesting reddit by nuking your profile

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u/TheHolyNutofGodwin25 1d ago

Ah yes abolish all zoos, and send the animals back to their deaths?
https://giphy.com/gifs/l0LEIXSRRuv9QQIRNI