[ IGE 223 ]

On our visit to the Los Angeles Zoo, I took the video of all the different sections that we visited in the zoo. Together, Yvette and I covered the aspects of research in zoos and how it benefits both society and the animals. We both did the research. Yvette did the organization and outline, and I typed and put our final thoughts together in the form of the paper that you will see on our web page. Although this does not seem to be much, this did take a lot of time and effort to research how research in zoos actually benefits our society and the animals in the zoo. In our group, we divided the pictures that Brett took on his digital camera during our visit to the zoo, and each of us wrote a paragraph or two about the picture and quoted a quote from the book that related to our theme, "Animal Rights". I wrote on the sections about the giraffe, the Polar Bear, the Sloth Bear, and the American Black Bear. Each of us also wrote a short biography telling what each of us did for our project and our own personal feelings about zoos. And finally, to finish our wonderful project, our group will present (together) our feelings about zoos overall and our experiences at the Los Angeles Zoo.

The question of whether I am pro zoo depends solely on what type of zoo it is that we are talking about. There are several types of zoos out there today. There are big zoos like the San Diego zoo that have many big, open areas for the animals to live in. There are also the open parks that the visitors are actually in the caged cars and the animals are free to go anywhere they want, such as the San Diego Wildlife Park. Then, of course, there are those little zoos that are tight for space and have small, crammed areas for the animals to live in. These types of zoos ultimately end up making the animals unhappy and angry. If it is this type of zoo that we are talking about, then I think that we should not have them at all. However, if it is a big open zoo with plenty of room, such as the San Diego Wildlife Park, then great! Animals and the society can benefit from these types of zoos. The animals can live in a stress free environment while remaining happy, and the community can come see them in their natural habitats and learn about them. These zoos provide a learning place and a place that we can research the many species of animals, learning about them and how they survive their natural habitat. Zoos also help save many animals from going into extinction. Each year, we destroy more and more of certain animals natural environments to compensate and make space for building and expanding our society. Zoos like these help to preserve these endangered animals and give them a safe place to live that replicates their own environment. In addition, as I mentioned earlier, these zoos give us a place to research and study these animals. If it is this type of zoo that we are talking about, then I am definitely PRO ZOO.

-Eric