I'd be willing to move the animals out of the zoos, but only on the condition that the resulting empty cages are filled with members of PETA, ALF, Earth First and others of that ilk.

No point letting good cage space go to waste.

Oh, and we'd have to be allowed to throw stuff at the new inhabitants. I'd even be willing to pay as much as two bucks for three shots. Money to go to the World Wildlife Fund or the SPCA.

Personally, people will want to see animals 'up close and personal'.

Its better to have some animals kept in a zoo then for people and rogue agencies to travel to the animal's real habitat and ruin the landscape and the animal's home; scarying them off, disrupting feeding patterns, etc - all in the name of seeing a lion, or a tiger, or a chimp. Zoos are a lot better than that reality I think.

I think it's time now we treat animals like us, (not litteraly). We wouldn't want to be kept in a small place forever, being teased and having pretty much no privacy!Animals should not be kept in zoo's, people say they are helping them, when ther really are not. Game reserves are much better for the animals because they have more space, and could live like they did in the wild. Plus there aren't people taking pictures of them every single moment!

Some humans would actually like that...

True, but it will eventually become annoying when thousands and staring at you, watching your every moment, and taking pictures of you ALL the time. It can be scary in some cases. Most humans want their privacy every now and then.

(I am not disagreeing with you)

To me, as long as the animals are treated well and are supplied with all the basic needs (food, water, shelter, good and dependable care when they are injured/sick, proper habitat and large areas--this one is important), I really don't care. I've seen wild animals up close and personal before, things such as a moose, three fox kits, a herd of wild horses (oh, that was an incredible experience) and even a wild turkey that wanted in my house for Thanksgiving, and yes, there is a sense of awe to that but not everyone has the same chances that I do.

The largest zoo near me has to be the Toronto Zoo which, as anyone who has been there knows, it's set back from the city in a relatively unspoiled part of nature. It's beautiful, honestly, how they mix nature with concrete and how each continent has their own section which allows for the creation of very large perimeters. The African section alone is -massive- and if someone goes there for a day, they won't be able to finish everything and if you do it throughly (like I did), it will take almost three days to see everything in that zoo and I mean everything. Every exhibit, every animal. As for the circus, blah, I saw Dumbo as a child and since, the circus has always seemed so evil. The only "circus" type thing I've ever seen was the Austrian Lipizzaners and that's not so much circus as it is a dressage performance, an amazingly well-done dressage performance.

As for the school of thought that humans should be put behind cages, and mocked at..human misery has already been a center of entertainment so the idea of putting humans into cages isn't very new. 18th century, London: The rich and stupid -paid- to tour through insane asylums to be "entertained" by people suffering from disorders. Need I mention what was once (or still is, I'm not really sure) a big draw in traveling carnivals? The freak show. Gee, did people gawk at others who were born with birth defects ..Why, yes. Yes, they did.

If the zoo is a good one and cares for it's animals properly according to their appropriate needs then I don't see why the zoo shouldn't be allowed. It is great in educational value, conservation, and in terms of research. Plus if you think about, an animal in a zoo has it alot easier than an animal out in the wild. There aren't any preditors to worry about, the food is right there for them, and if they get sick or injured there is someone to care for them.

Ideally yes but that only works for some species and not for others for practical reasons. One problem with zoos is the caged animals develops different behaviors from the ones living in the wild. They can be depended on their keepers.

One documentary I saw illustrated this. A pack of wild dogs were released back into the wilds after being in captivity for an extended period of time, possibly from an early age. They lost the ability to hunt as a group. The program compared their hunt with other groups who lived in the wild. The released group were not able to kill a prey and were left exhausted after each attempt. Something that is unheard of because African wild dogs are known for their stamina. The former keepers had to feed them and lead them close to potential prey but the dogs just kept following the jeep because their knew that is their source of food.

Yes. What kind of world would we live in if we never got to see lions, tigers, and bears in person? I can't wait to take my daughter to the zoo. I want her to have happy memories of going to the zoo like I do.

Of course animals should be kept in zoos, just like people should be kept in prisons. Don't worry, it's not because you've done anything wrong. We're just genuinely interested in your well-being. You'll have plenty of food and shelter, be safe from predators, and have the the finest health care available. Seems like a pretty good arrangement, doesn't it?