Re:Vancouver bans whales and dolphins at aquarium
by mthoms on Wednesday May 17, 2017 @01:27PM
(#14360635)
>is it not better to die free than live long in a cage?
From an instinctive and evolutionary standpoint, definitely the latter.
Re:Vancouver bans whales and dolphins at aquarium
by wavefunction on Wednesday May 17, 2017 @01:35PM
(#14360739)
Yeah, 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.
Re:Vancouver bans whales and dolphins at aquarium
by mthoms on Thursday May 18, 2017 @12:09AM
(#14364743)
You 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.
Re:Vancouver bans whales and dolphins at aquarium
by nojvek on Monday May 22, 2017 @05:55PM
(#14397244)
Well 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-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.
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?