Monday, July 11, 2016

Children love to see animals

1726: 

What message is given to school students taken to zoos, by their school teachers or parents? If I pity the animals, I also pity the kids for being lured to such places on the pretext of educating them about wildlife. They get to see a lot of bored, caged animals, and that’s all.

In the grander scheme of things, I suppose a trip to the zoo will help to desensitise them, when it comes to their acceptance of animal factories. It helps them to see the intensive battery cages that hold thousands of hens, as okay places.

Our society certainly doesn’t want children to be too sensitive towards animals in case they stop eating them. By the time they grow up into adults, the process is supposed to be more or less completed; by this time, the adult should be too obstinate to see what their own eyes are telling them. They have been trained to believe that animal-based foods are essential for good health, and that zoos “save animals”.

So just what do we get when we pay to get into zoos? A lot of imprisoned exotic creatures, showing the reduction of wild beauty to captive ugliness. If you love animals don’t go to the zoo, it will upset you. If you like a nice bit of horror, Taronga is just the ticket.


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