Zoo versus the wild

Today’s blog is pondering the pros and cons of the welfare of animals in captivity, compared to those that are born into the wild wilds of African countries and the like. I’ve always adored animals. All of them; indiscriminately. Even the ones that hiss in my face, smell bad, or have a less than benevolent personality. If I was going to get all finicky, then a lot of people I’ve met in my lifetime would meet this criteria as well; and I would preferably give them the flick out of my life than an animal.

When it comes to our feathered and furry friends, my concern is for their welfare, and I think that their welfare is pretty darn good living in the local city zoo, at least in Western countries.  While some are confined within a space that they wouldn’t be subjected to out in the wild, and they have to deal with the high-pitched screams of excited kids, they don’t have to hunt for their food, fight for their survival or spend every waking minute protecting their young so the big bad wolf doesn’t eat their babies during the night. And their future is clear in captivity - they will live their lives and breed and lie around all day watching Fox News.

Life in captivity means the survival of a species can be prolonged, as they are often involved in breeding programs run by experts who are steadfast on ensuring their continued existence. But let’s be honest; endangered animals will become extinct no matter what we do. Apart from the fact that humans couldn’t survive for the most part without eating certain species, I don’t see that we have any right to kill any animal for fun, profit, pride, culture, status or tradition, or any other idiotic reason, as occurs in many regions around the world.

I don’t agree with, and am sickened by, the way individuals in many countries mistreat, abuse and disrespect animals. But are we empowered to do anything about it? There isn’t a not-for-profit in the world that has the balls to fight this fight; not on any level.  I, at least, like to fight on the individual level.  If I ever see someone abusing an animal in Australia, where we have (weak and pathetic) animal cruelty laws in place, I would likely implement my eye-for-an-eye policy and go to jail for a long time on a charge that I would view as a community service.  To avoid possible long-term detention, I have often thought about heading into politics just so I can strengthen Australia’s minimalist animal cruelty penalties, but I don’t think Australia would ever be ready for the justice measures I would like to introduce; what with our ridiculous anti-capital punishment law.

One of my favourite animals is the tiger. I simply adore them. I have visited them many times at the zoo, and I feel that I have always had a special bond with each and every one of them. Perhaps it may also be due to the fact that I stare at them for so long they are really longing to rip my head off, and serve me up as a tasty afternoon snack served with a side of grass and goat meat. Hmm, I prefer my more romantic Born Free-esque, tiger whisperer fantasy.

This is the last post in my A – Z Writing Challenge, which is a little sad. The end has come so soon and I have very much enjoyed this creative process each day and feel immeasurably satisfied that it is complete. Rediscovering my passion for creative writing has been more of a stimulating journey than a challenge, and I’ll never stop writing again.  For the past 25 days, I have written 25 blogs (today being the 26th), on 25 topics that start with the letters of the alphabet. Ultimately, my purpose was to get back into the habit of writing on a daily basis, which I lost when I began uni seven years ago amongst endless politics essays and psychology presentations. And I have found that I have began to really enjoy writing again, and my writer’s block has put itself on hold. At least for the time being.