Global Q&A: ‘How do you feel about zoos?’

Envigado, Colombia: Jennifer Salazar Duque, 19, International Business Administration Student: I think that zoos, one way or another, provide a space for animals—a place where they are taken care of. But from another point of view, it is exploitation; I think that animals should be in their original habitat, where they were meant to be. Personally, the zoos that I have seen in my country are pretty deteriorated… Also, a lot of people don’t take the time to visit zoos, admire and meet them. They are simply there. It doesn’t appeal to people anymore, technology is more attractive—to see them online instead of face to face.

Animals are thought best to be left in their natural habitats unless they are an endangered species when an opportunity may present to breed in captivity, and then the animals can be released to the wild again. This is what Epoch Times reporters from areas such as Colombia to United Arab Emirates found when they asked locals, “How do you feel about zoos?”

Look for the Global Q&A column every week. Epoch Times correspondents interview people around the world to learn about their lives and perspectives on local and global realities. Next week’s global question, “Do you feel there’s not enough time in the day?”