Do any one know of any exhibiths of homo sapiens in zoos ? I know that at least London Zoo, and some other eurepean zoos have had them, some 100 years ago. But do you know of any others, now and in the past ? How do these exhibiths look like ? And is it really moraly and ethically correct to have human exhibiths in zoos ?
It totally depends on how this kind of exhibit is presented, as to whether it is moral or ethical... that said, if done right, it could be a fascinating; a reminder that we humans just another animal living on this planet. If I were designing it (with unlimited budget) I would have several exhibits to show how humans adapted along side animals over time.
morally and ethically? In the past you could suggest the displays of eskimos, bushmen, pygmies, etc, and debate that. Today I couldn't imagine there would be any moral or ethical issues. People displayed in zoos today are choosing to be employed to be so, or volunteer to do so.
The Bronx Zoo had Ota Benga, a Congolese Mbuti pygmy who was "on display" around the turn of the century. He was allowed to live on the zoo grounds and had an orangutan he carried around. Exhibits featuring humans had been in Worlds Fairs quite a few times in the past. Of course these would be very unethical now, but I think I read somewhere that a zoo in Germany had people who volunteered to be on display.
Actually it could be a very interesting ethical question if we ever get to point we can clone a Neaderthal or a Cro Magon involving what exactly is human?
Personally I think it would be a great idea - educating visitors in the fact that they too, are animals and they too require the same care as the other exhibits. It could bring about a sense of humility and compassion for everything that shares this planet with us. The word here is "could"... Ethically and morally, as said above - people would either be employed or volunteer to be part of an exhibit - so there might not be issues with it. What would you suspect people would object to, and on what grounds? Didn't London Zoo have something called Human Zoo in recent years? Did anyone experience it?
