Wednesday, October 3, 2012

An Elephant Never Lies


My response to the article “Let the Zoo’s Elephants Go” is, oh my god not another animal story, so freaking sad! Les Shobert states "The elephants' debilitating ailments are probably a result of the inadequate conditions in which they have been held.” He goes on to state "Zoos must change the concept of how elephants are kept in captivity, starting with how much space we allot them." Shorbert goes into the specifics of how horribly these animals are being treated, because of the way they are detained, and how they can be helped. 

 
http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/oppeleph01.htm

I feel if a zoo, circus, or any other sideshow is going to have such an exhibit, they as caregivers should supply adequate living arrangements for such enormous and needy animals. Although, whose fault is it really? It can’t be held in the arms of the caregivers alone. They have these exhibits for a reason, right? Exactly, they have them for us, the public. The reason this is a problem now is that we, the public, see the way all of these animals are being treated and we don’t like it, not one bit, boohoo!

Well maybe it’s not the whole public that is complaining. According to Schorbet, though it is a huge problem and something needs to be done right now! So what can we do? I have no idea, nor do I really care. I mean, I don’t have time to worry about elephants, right? I have a full load of college courses, work full time, and have other life goals to worry about. So what can I/we do to help? Nothing really, I can just sit here in my comfy chair, read this article and write this summary about how horrible I don’t feel for these animals. Then maybe someone will read this, think it’s a little funny or sarcastic and get really mad. Hopefully one of you really heartfelt people out there will actually see that what is being done to these elephants is wrong and destructive to this world. You may see the big picture. In fact, you may see that it’s not just the elephants that need help, it’s everything and everyone, and we’ll all start doing our part. According to Schobert there are two said facilities that can harbor such enormous animals; The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and PAWS in Galt, CA. Maybe a way we could do our part is to donate a few dollars to help these facilities. Maybe instead of spending our money going to these exhibits, we could send a little their way. In closing I’m going to have to agree with the author of this article, “the zoo should do right by its elephants, and the public should demand nothing less.” We are the only ones that can make this change so lets help and do our part.



 

1 comment:

  1. Right off, I love your candid, casual writing style. Your response: "so freaking sad", immediately drew me in, it feels comfortable reading your blog. Your sacarstic, devil's advocate argument is excellent. Anyone who says "but I can't do anything" is just excusing their complicity. You actually suggest something we CAN do. And even if you don't give money, tell your zoo patronizing friends and family about these conditions, spread the word. Let's all just stop going to zoos. Well organized and fun to read.

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