lets save the portland zoo animals....please

Animal Liberation gets the goods!

When I went there and saw the very tall jail cell for giraffes, my heart broke. The monkeys rocked back and forth on their cold, jail floor in their tiny cell....I promised them I would try to do something. We should set up a meeting to talk about this and brainstorm ideas. I have never seen such a sad zoo before. They make plenty of money, and when I bought a $12 hat for my toddler there, I noticed the gift shop was packed full of people with their wallets out buying things. We should not stand for this. I'm not usually an animal rights activist but after seeing those sick, sad animals I know I must do something.

It makes no difference if animals in zoos have adequate,care, enclosures,entertainment,space,food,lighting,temperature,socialization or anything else.The fact remains that they are all CAGED animals.WILD ANIMALS LIVING IN CAGES.Wild animals forced into captivity to 'entertain and educate' the paying public.Their freedom has been taken from them so man can exploit and profit from their pain and misery.This has been a problem for years.Now that Schumachers Fur is no longer in existace maybe everyone can turn their attention and efforts onto the Portland Zoo.

When I called to get rates they said it was funded partially by Metro. Add in all the crappy, overpriced food and expensive exhibits ($4 each here, $2 here..) and they can't be in the red.

There are only 40 Amur leopards in the wild and they have one in a small cage.

When is the meeting?

It's an interesting question that many people wonder about. Why have people created zoos, and why are they important now?

The idea of a zoo actually started a long time ago, in the ancient cultures of China, the Middle East, and then the Roman Empire. As people started to travel more, for longer distances to explore the unknown, they began to discover animals and plants that they had never seen or heard of before. They were fascinated by these amazing creatures. Travelers reported back to their communities and their leaders what they had seen. Rulers like emperors, sultans, and kings often wanted to prove how wealthy and powerful they were, to each other and to their subjects. One way to do that was to "collect" some of these animals, and allow people to come and see them. These collections were called menageries, and usually only the rich and powerful had them.

But that changed as time went on, and eventually it was countries and then individual cities that had collections of exotic animals for people to come and see, and they were no longer reserved only for wealthy rulers. Zoology is the study of animals, so these became zoological collections. You guessed it—that was then shortened to the word we use now: zoos.
Zoos open to the public

At first most zoos only had a limited number of animals, usually the ones people had heard about but never seen in person, like lions, bears, giraffes, hippos, and other big and impressive species. Then as zoos became more popular, and traveling to get animals became more possible, zoos started to represent animals from particular countries and parts of the world. Zoologists studied these animals to find out more about them: what they ate, how they grew, how they had young, and how they behaved, among other things. But zoos were open to the general public, too, so everyone could find out about animals.
Connecting with critters

Zoos today still serve that important purpose: they allow us to study and find out more about animals that we would not understand otherwise. People are curious and want to know about the world around them, and that especially includes the animals and plants with which we share the Earth. In addition to studying animals in zoos, scientists are also able to go out to the countries where animals live and study them in the field, or their habitat. But most people cannot do that, so zoos allow them to see and connect with what would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Helping wildlife

These days we also have cable TV, though, and there are lots of wild animal shows that we can watch. So why still have zoos? One of the most important reasons is conservation. Humans are destroying the Earth's habitats at a very fast pace, in order to make space, food, and products for ourselves. But that leaves less and less room for animals and plants. Zoos and wildlife parks are places where we can protect species that are in trouble, so they don't disappear from the Earth completely.

People do have different opinions about that, though. Some people think that animals should not be kept by humans for any reason, and that if they go extinct, then that's the way it should be. Other people think that animals are precious resources, an important part of the Earth, and that we should do everything we can to protect them, especially since we are the ones putting them in danger in the first place. Some people feel that there is lots of wild space and that animals should only live there. Other people feel that there is very little wild space left, that animals are contained by humans in some way no matter where they are, and it is up to us to take care of them the best we can. It's a discussion that will probably go on for a long time, especially as more and more species become endangered.

There is another thing that zoos accomplish, which could be one of the most important of all. Zoos give people the opportunity to see animals in person, often up close, to watch them, realize how alike we are in many ways, to understand them, and to appreciate them. It's amazing to come almost face to face with an elephant or tiger, for example, to see how big it is, to feel its power, to look in its eyes; or to see an orangutan or gorilla amble right by you, holding its baby or playing chase with its brother or sister. It is said that people only love what they understand, and they only protect what they love. Zoos may be the last stand for wild species, the place where humans can grow to love them, and then work to protect them.






Zoos like the Oregon Zoo DO NEED OUR HELP!....they are in desperate need of habitat REHABILITATION....but it takes $$$$$$ and time.

Other than a few species that we humans have pushed to the brink of extinction, zoos are not necessary. We need a few places for breeding projects with the goal of a large enough population to release back in the wild.

Other than that, zoos are prisons.

Giving money to the Portland Zoo is like giving money to a circus, a rodeo, a fur farm, a puppy mill, a factory farm, a primate center, a pet store or OHSU.
Why advocate being a party to animal cruelty, abuse and exploitation? Not really sure where you are coming from but I have no desire to visit your mind anytime in the near future.

The reason extinction is bad is not because people won't be able to see those animals anymore or just because it's sad/immoral to see them go. Extinction is bad because every species serves a purpose in every ecological system. When species are removed from ecological systems at unnatural rates the systems are thrown out of balance and that has serious repercussions for everyone around the world. A tiger in a cage like an entertaining lab rat somewhere does NOT count as conservation. Neither does zoo breeding programs. Reintroducing a species without stopping what is killing them is nonsense. Curbing the causes of extinction (destruction of habitat, poaching, etc.) does count.

I stopped taking my son to zoos a few years ago after reading up on the real threats and solutions to extinction. Also I had a former zoo employee tell me that when zoos were done with animals they auctioned them off to menageries, other zoos, and home "safari" hunters.

I'm concerned about a few things regarding everyone's knowledge on the Oregon Zoo:

1. Oregon Zoo - not Portland Zoo

2. Please cite sources regarding animal behavior in the Oregon Zoo. I'm not sure anyone has presented anything other than observation at this point.

3. RE: "the "new bear exhibit" they have is a joke, the bears are kept in a very small area, by themselves (one in each) and not suitable for these animals" - Have you actually been to the zoo? I forget the name of the new bear exhibit, but it's by the enterance, yes? Funny, looks like they are all in the same enclosure...

4. RE: "the tigers and lions need better enclosures too" - OK, now I know you haven't been to the zoo in LONG time. The Oregon Zoo hasn't had lions in over 10 years.

5. Yes, the prices at the zoo are ridiculous - no point arguing this.

6. RE:"When I called to get rates they said it was funded partially by Metro. Add in all the crappy, overpriced food and expensive exhibits ($4 each here, $2 here..) and they can't be in the red. There are only 40 Amur leopards in the wild and they have one in a small cage." - Actually, the zoo is part of Metro, so a portion of the funds from the gate and other sales go into the Metro general fund. There are less than 40 Amur leopards left in the wild. The Oregon Zoo has 2, not 1.

7. The Oregon Zoo has several conservation programs around the world. They even have breeding programs for releasing animals into the wild. And in case you didn't know, you can't get the ok to breed animals for release into the wild without first working to remove the threat.

Seriously, where the hell are you all getting your information? I will gladly cite all of my sources if requested. I see both the good and the bad, I'm just concerned that most of you are only choosing to see one face of a multi-faced construct. How can I help you all out?

the animals should be sent to the wild life preserve in san diego. the animals have roaming lands. the giraffes run! it's the only animal enclosure that hasn't broken my heart. zoos are out dated. they are an archaich remnant of twisted human self importance. close the zoo. animals are not slaves or mere curiousities.

i volunteered there this summer and learned alot about the zoo and saw how things are "behind the scenes" the animals are well cared for for the most part, but some are in small cages being, as the zoo calls it "quarantined". They have been there for a long time and are often handled without care by the zoo's inexperienced zooteens. btw, that polar bear that walks in circles have a mental disfuntion which makes him do it, thats what i was told by the zoo, its not fact. I decided to work there because i thought i would be able to bring my own care and responsibility to animals for their well being. Thanks for noticing, i know the people who work at the zoo and "most" of them live for the animals and would die for any one of them, but for the cages, small enclosures, old, and dirty primate cages; there is work to be done.

i think your right animals dserve as much freedom and comfort as humans and i think animals should be given their lives they were intended to live back. not caged in a jail for the rest of their lives i think its wrong and horrible. because they get sick, stressed or even injuried in the cage. i think they should be in the wild mating, playing about and hunting. people think its dangerous thats what makes the world go round they need to be FREE. its like being in jail whe u didnt do anything wrong just for entertainment.