
The dark truth behind wildlife tourism - boernard
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/06/global-wildlife-tourism-social-media-causes-animal-suffering/
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belorn
The story about dolphins makes me wonder why domestic horses are viewed as
normal. When I compare them to dolphins the same boxes pops up. Horses have
evolved to run great distances and live in larger social groups. The area
which horses are kept is comparable very small compared to their wild
counterpart. Horses are usually kept with only one or a few other horses, but
the law do allow them to be isolated. There isn't much strict law dictating
how much space they must have.

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devoply
Comments like your's makes me wonder why humans have been turned into zombies
sitting in front of a desk most of their lives. Humans also did not evolve for
the environment that they have created for themselves with their technology.
They evolved as hunter gatherers that often traveled large distances chasing
their food source. What they created for themselves in their sedentary
lifestyles in no way resembles that.

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9nGQluzmnq3M
Humans have a choice. Captive animals don't.

~~~
mgolawala
Perhaps we don’t anymore? Not for most of us anyway. In a sense we too are
domesticated and brought up in captivity.

Even if we knew how to survive. Between private property, most wildlife being
eradicated, the rest being protected, loss of natural ecosystems to farmland
(private property) and ranch land (private property), commercial fishing
reducing the abundance of fish available, other areas being protected from
fishing, rivers being dammed up or polluted, water tables dropping due to the
pumping of ground water, and our sheer numbers. Perhaps Living like hunter
gatherers is no longer a choice available to us. It is either live as we do
now, or perish. I know that is how it would be for me.

It's a sobering thought.

~~~
devoply
We don't and we haven't for thousands of years since farming and the states,
empires, and concept of ownership which sprung up as a result of that. It's
almost impossible to be a hunter gatherer anymore... and those who still
choose to practice this sort of life style are far an between and often prey
to other actors who exploit the fact that they have little representation in
modern society.

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scythe
When I initially clicked the link, I expected to hear about some bad things
that happen when lots of tourists go somewhere to look at wildlife. Wildlife,
to me, means animals which are _not_ captive to humans. But the majority of
animals described in this article -- tame elephants, dancing bears, trained
monkeys and so forth -- are born, raised and abused in captivity.

Now if you told me that _animal performance_ attractions are typically cruel,
that would be a much less surprising headline -- the sordid history of circus
animals is a long-told story. I guess the Amazon river dolphins are wildlife,
but if the punchline of the story were "dolphins hurt each other fighting for
bait", I don't think it would arouse quite as much pity in the audience. And I
wouldn't be nearly as surprised to hear that there is a "dark secret" lurking
behind "exotic animal encounter" tourism.

So I feel a little disappointed in the title.

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itronitron
Yes, but a lot of these experiences for tourists are offered in a way that
conceals the 'performance' aspect in such a way that people feel they are
having a wildlife experience.

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neonate
[https://outline.com/jjGgwW](https://outline.com/jjGgwW)

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everybodyknows
The label itself is a lie -- those animals aren't wildlife any more. They're
captives in most brutal imprisonment.

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fqw3b58w4n6
Go Vegan. If you already believe animal cruelty is wrong, you already believe
in veganism.

~~~
vinay427
Just to add a few thoughts to this for those who believe in animal welfare:

If you think it's too hard or impractical, assuming you live in a developed
country it's almost certainly quite feasible and can be very cheap.

If you think it's too radical, it probably shouldn't seem any different than
any of the other moral conundrums we abstain from. Is it radical to not kill,
assault, or rob people?

Of course, the context of social acceptance matters, but to illustrate why
this (in my opinion) isn't always appropriate, something more comparable:
would you consider it radical to not enslave people if you lived in the US
during the era of slavery and had the choice to do so but thought it morally
wrong?

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harimau777
I've tried to eat at least more vegan and found it quite difficult. I can put
some chicken, refried beans, cheese, and a tortilla in the microwave and have
a satisfying, high calorie meal in five minutes. I haven't found a vegan
equivalent yet.

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blacksmith_tb
It isn't satisfying without the chicken? The 'high calorie' aspect won't
change too much... There are quite a few fake-meat takes on chicken out there,
I don't miss meat so I tend to avoid them, but they exist.

