ZOO

I love going to the zoo too see and take as many photograph’s as I can I know there are a lot of you that don’t like or agree with zoos but they are necessary to keep these wild animals alive or they would sadly become extinct, so they really do need our support by boycotting them it could closed the zoo down and then the animals would have to be relocated, or worst put down.

I would love to hear your views on this, and would love to know who goes to them on a regular basis?

I too love visiting good zoos. There are still some terrible zoos around sadly but most are trying to improve.

I have a season ticket to our local zoo and go there regularly, even if only for an hour or so. It used to be a horrible place - the worst sort of zoo, and I only went once many years ago. However with the arrival of grandchildren I reluctantly went again, and was delighted by the changes they had made. They have reduced the number of animal types they keep, and given those they have more room and better enclosures. The saddest animals of all they used to have were cheetahs, kept in a tiny enclosure spending their lives paces up and down. When the last cheetah died he was not replaced, though they did have one temporarily a year or so ago, while it was found a new home. But he had the run of four old enclosures, and they made him work for his dinner.

Not everyone can be lucky enough to see animals in the wild, which is probably just as well, given the pressures visitor numbers already place on some wildlife reserves. Seeing them in the zoo, or better yet safari park, hopefully helps educate people and means that those animals in the wild can be preserved and maintained.
I don't honestly think that animals kept in zoos prevent extinction of species simply by the keeping and breeding of those animals. It is the educational aspect which will hopefully help prevent extinction in the wild - which is where it matters after all.

If I could afford to I would certainly visit other zoos in the Netherlands more often.

The best zoo I have ever visited btw is San Diego Zoo, and it's wildlife park too.

Zoos are important for study and breeding purposes. If they make visitors more aware of their world, then I am all for them. Toronto zoo is a fantastic huge place where animals have a fair amount of room, though a big cat is still in a prison even if their cage is one kilometre square. That saddens me, but the kangaroo soon cheer me up.

I have read a fair bit about San Diego Zoo and it is one that I would really like to visit.

Sandy

If you ever need an excuse to visit San Diego then a visit to the zoo is as good as any.
San Diego is one of my favourite cities.