We've been to the zoo

Chester Zoo to be exact.

I have mixed feelings about these places.

On the one hand, caging wild animals for amusement is terrible and I have, in some zoos, seen signs of distress in the animals kept there.

Pacing tiger at Chester Zoo. See more images at my Flickr page.

On the other, many of the animals are bred in captivity and, to some extent, habituated to their circumstances. Good zoos are increasingly involved in conservation, education and captive breeding and release programmes, without which some species would be extinct. Good zoos go to great lengths to ensure the welfare of the animals they keep.

On balance, I'd much rather see efforts invested in conserving wild habitats, without which there will be nothing to release captive bred wild animals into. Zoos may be diverting attention from the "real issue". However, "we are where we are" and zoos seem to have their place in this imperfect world.

How about you?