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Counterpoint: The animals they are rescuing would have died in the wild. I personally think that although it'll make children watching the local news cry, we s
by deanCommie 9y ago
Counterpoint: The animals they are rescuing would have died in the wild.
I personally think that although it'll make children watching the local news cry, we should help animals and immediately return them to the wild. If the only way to help them means taking them into captivity, we should not help.
- jamesgagan 9y agoDespite the claims that these animals are all "rescued", those claims are hard to prove, and a number of these mammals are actually born in captivity. I do agree with the rest of your comment.
- hhw 9y agoThe determination on which animals in Canada to rescue, and which can be returned to the wild is done by the Department of Fisheries, so there is neutral oversight provided by a government entity. Those claims are easy to prove.
- jamesgagan 9y agohere's a list of where their animals come from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Aquarium#Animals_at_the_Aquarium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Aquarium#Animals_at_...
- vkou 9y agoCounterpoint: The animals they are breeding in captivity would not have died in the wild.
- djsumdog 9y ago> we should help animals and immediately return them to the wild. If the only way to help them means taking them into captivity, we should not help. It depends on the animal of course, and if they're social animals or prefer solitude. There are many birds, injured beyond rehabilitation, that seem to do fine in captivity (so long as it's a good centre with lots of space -- most places don't though which is sad. The Cincinnati Zoo is an example of a good centre for rehabilitation). When it comes to dolphins and whales, I totally agree though. They're simply too big and they evolved to travel massive distances. If they can be treated and nursed for a few weeks and immediately released, I think that's the best thing. Why should aquatic specialists decide if they'd survive in the wild? If they are healthy enough to at least be able to find others of their kind, is it not better to die free than live long in a cage?
- mthoms 9y ago>is it not better to die free than live long in a cage? From an instinctive and evolutionary standpoint, definitely the latter.
- wavefunction 9y agoYeah, as long as you're talking about permanently domesticating an animal so they'll be 'cage dolphins' or whatever. Otherwise that's absolutely not true.
- mthoms 9y agoYou misunderstood. The point is, an animal will always attempt to keep living regardless of how painful or hopeless the situation. It's a basic instinct.
- nojvek 9y agoWell that's what we've perfected in animal farming isn't it. Cows, pigs, chicken injected with vaccines, given food and hormones that makes them live long enough to produce offspring and maximum human consumable resources. Their emotional and psychological needs are the least of our concerns. I am with "letting wild animals be wild". If an animal can be patched up and let back into the wild after a couple of week, great. I hate aquariums and zoos for this reason. Its the human equivalent of https://popularresistance.org/deep-racism-the-forgotten-history-of-human-zoos/ https://popularresistance.org/deep-racism-the-forgotten-hist... I would rather prefer reserves. e.g Nairobi national park, serengeti, mara. Really large spaces where animals can remain wild but conservation programs can still take place. Vancouver aquarium in its Vancouver's ridiculously priced real estate doesn't have enough space to host big intelligent animals.
- amelius 9y ago> Counterpoint: The animals they are rescuing would have died in the wild. Perhaps this is the preferred outcome, from the animal's perspective. I mean if a human had the choice between dying and being caged in a 5x5 ft closet for a substantial amount of time, ...
- krapht 9y agoIs this a joke? Most would prefer prison over execution.
- megablast 9y agoWhat right do we have to decide that captivity is a better fate?