Eleni Nearchou writes Growing up I remember every Sunday morning, we went for a walk "in the garden". We played in the playground and went "to see the animals". Many of us have in a part of our house the Polaroid photo of the pony that was usually "decorated" with various accessories. Unfortunately then, the indifference to animal rights was greater and I want to believe that in the years 2023 almost ’24, it has decreased. With the Friends of the Earth position to close the zoo, it's time we all take the issue even more seriously.
When you are no longer a child who rejoices at the sight of an ostrich or a monkey in a cage, you begin to realize that what you are facing is wrong and quite cruel. You realize that it is not logical or normal that an elephant was born and died in a cage, away from its natural environment, moving in a few squares all the years of its life.
The "good" or "bad" condition in which the animals live is not the only issue unfortunately, but it is certainly not of minor importance. Let's not forget the deer that died just last year because its antlers got caught in the wires of its cage. The general problem lies in the general idea of a zoo.
Let's just try to imagine how these animals feel: like you're carefree in a forest, like you're swimming in a river or flying and sitting in a tree, suddenly waking up in a cage, without your will, away from your family, your nest, your home. In a cage that offers you nothing, but is there only to be seen by the one who took you away from your home to tell his child "look at the hippopotamus swimming" and rejoice, condemning you to live in prison for the rest of your life, just because he can.
Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. Most animals have lived for years away from their natural environment, and their return to it can be disastrous for their health and survival.
Animals are not a spectacle, nor a form of entertainment. Just because they can't speak up and say how they feel and what they want, doesn't mean that we who can (after all) have the right to decide where and how they spend their lives. They cannot defend their rights, but we can, shall we?
