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sylvanwhisper t1_iym74nc wrote

Reply to comment by hankepanke in Toledo Zoo welcomes twin polar bear cubs by citytiger

The people in this thread who think breeding an animal to suffer is better than not having the animal go extinct make me queasy. This is not positive news and I cannot believe you and anyone else pointing out this fact are being down voted.

These animals will grow up an an enclosure that is exponentially too small for them. They will slowly become mentally ill. They will suffer and be miserable. And they will die.

This is like thinking that dogs who live their whole lives in a kennel is a better alternative than the dog being out down.

It's devastating that polar bears will likely be extinct in our lifetime. It's just as devastating and cruel to breed them for captivity in this way.

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hankepanke t1_iynb9wp wrote

Thanks buddy, I kind of feel like I’m taking crazy pills that people are viewing this as only good news, so it’s good to know I’m not the only one.

There are 20,000-25,000 polar bears left in the world. 40 captive bears that will not be released into the wild are not a factor when it comes to conservation genetics. I get the zoos as a necessary evil argument for public education and I think it has some merit, but I think it also tricks some people (see this thread being in r/upliftingnews) into thinking we are doing more for the species than we actually are. Documentaries can show people how awesome these creatures are and the imminent threat they are facing. A captive polar bear surrounded by glass and metal shaking its head back and forth or swimming in circles isn’t the image people should have.

Even at its best, I’ll put some emphasis on the ‘evil’ part of necessary evil. Some animals can adapt ok to well-run zoos with large enclosures and space for the animals to be away from humans if they choose. Polar bears are not one of those animals.

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