Here is an interesting article about childrens expectations of what animals are like thanks to movies like Happy Feet. I would like to hear your thoughts on the article. For me th comment by the animal rights group is particularly interesting as they appear to want it both ways. Zoos can't teach kids about animals because the animals are behaving like they naturally do. The Sunday Herald - Scotland's award-winning independent newspaper
Articles like this show that 98% of the population should be sterilised... It like when someone on a TV show kills someone the actor gets persecuted in real life for being a "murderer"...
the animal-rights brigade always bring out the "people can watch animals on TV so we don't need zoos" line
...or they bring out the "Today everyone can travel to Africa to see the wild animals there"line which somehow collides with the currently popular "eco-friendly, resource-saving" modern Western life-style... All in all one can conclude what I said in another thread: most zoo visitors haven't changed from the ones of the 19th century. Modern children would be adequately entertained if the animal was kept in a bare concrete cage and poked by the zookeeper every now and then to cause an reaction, and the adults would marvel at the beautiful surrounding (the park and the architecture of the animal buildings f.e.). On the one hand they want closer contact, on the other people are terribly afraid of zoonoses ...really helpful. And I seriously doubt that "21st-century technology and amazing programmes" can replace the sensory experience of the live animal-human contact-and help in consideration of the growing nature enstrangement of modern kids and probably connected growth of allergies. Unless of course that Mr. Minnet has an advice similar to that of the "Matrix" movies in mind...
