WINE CHATS: Are the circus and the zoo cancelled or is it still OK to visit them?

Does anyone else feel sad for the animals they see in zoos and circuses?

This week on The Nightly episode of Wine Chats, we are chatting about our thoughts on whether visiting zoos and paying to see animals do tricks in circuses is humane. All this while we drink wine with a whale on the label. It’s kind of fitting, no?

Disgusting species

Billi: I cannot understand that we would be so disgusting as a species to catch poor orcas and put them in tiny little pools.

We’ve all seen Blackfish. That was the big documentary about orcas and captivity a few years back and it just made me think about SeaWorld in the Gold Coast. Cause I’ve been to those shows a bunch of times and I love them. And those dolphins do really fancy tricks and it’s really cool to see, but is that wrong? I don’t know.

Lyndsey: See, I’m really torn with this because I have been to the zoo. I’ve been to a few zoos. I’ve been to SeaWorld. And like, they’re doing good things for the animals. I think there are zoos out there and places that are actually doing for the animal species what needs to be done to save them.

Billi: Yes, the conserve… I’m sorry. Conservation?

Lyndsey: Conservatory? It was Dr. Floss in the conservatory with the candlestick!

Billi: I started, I stopped, I’m sorry. You know, they’re trying to conserve these animals. Oh no, it’s just getting worse.

Lyndsey: Doing good for the animal species, that specific animal species. And I think if we didn’t have those people in the world, a lot of animals would be extinct.

Especially with the Australia Zoo, I feel like they’re world-renowned for doing good things.

Billi: Cause they have the wildlife hospital, an animal hospital. They actually bring animals to help them recover and then they send them back out into the wild. Don’t know what that’s called.

Lyndsey: So there are programs like that in zoos that I totally get. I still feel a bit sad when I’m walking around, a bit sad for the animals that aren’t out in the wild doing their animal thing, but I will not go to a circus.

Billi: Straight up and down, 100 per cent, never. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a circus in Australia. You can only imagine the stuff that we used to see in Eastern Europe back in the 90s, they used to have bears on chains, they would walk around and they would do tricks. That’s just that on the streets, you can only imagine what they used to do in circuses then.

I went as a kid, but I’ve never been here and I refuse to take my children.

Lyndsey: That’s one thing I refuse to do too, I absolutely will not go to a circus. And I don’t care what you say. Those animals are not being taken care of. They’re not being helped because they’re endangered.

They’re only there to make money. For entertainment. But back to the zoos though - there are dodgy zoos. Like the Australia Zoo is next level. But you could go to a little hodgy podge zoo off the side of the highway and you know that Bob, the bear keeper, isn’t keeping the bear nice.

Billi: No. And also think about all the countries in the world where they have zoos that just would not be doing the right thing by animals. Because again, it’s a money-making thing, right? They don’t give a s..t about what the animals, how they’re feeling. I’ve read about a zoo in India that is not allowed to replace its animals because the enclosures are just not humane.

So instead they’ve been taxidermying these animals and they’ve been leaving them as displays.

Lyndsey: So, if the elephant dies, they can’t get a new elephant because the zoo is so sh*t? So, they taxidermy the elephant? And just, like, plunk the elephant in the enclosure?

Billi: Which I guess is kinder than getting a replacement one.

But are there good zoos?

Billi: But a really good zoo is the New York one. Apparently, that’s a really, really good one where they’re actually helping animals and they have these great huge giant enclosures. I’ve never been, but I hear good things.

Lyndsey: And those zoos I think are important.

Billi: Yes. Because to be honest, when am I ever going to see a zebra? When am I ever just going to see any kind of animal, do you know what I mean? Like a giraffe. You’re not just going to walk outside and see a giraffe in your backyard.

You need these places so you can be exposed to seeing these animals. A bison? Or a lion or a tiger. When am I ever going to see a tiger? Do you know what I mean?

So obviously it’s good. You take your kids and you want them to be exposed to these animals. I don’t know what the moral of the story is. Do you just Google what’s a good zoo and what’s not before you go there?

Lyndsey: Absolutely. Don’t go to the dodgy Bob Zoo off the side of the highway. Unless you know Bob. Read up a bit on Bob before you go. Don’t go to a circus with animals. Go to circuses that have people doing stuff. If they have an animal, don’t do it.

Billi: And by all means, definitely don’t go to the ones that still have orcas. What do they call them? Zoos? Aquariums? I don’t know what they are like in the States. I still think they have orcas on display doing stuff. I’m sure they do. So please, oh my God, if you do have the opportunity to go to one of those, don’t!

That is the most cruel, cruel thing you can do, especially orcas who are family-oriented and who run in packs, who are so lonely. They put them in these, oh my God, when I saw that movie, I mean if you haven’t seen Blackfish, it’s awful, but you should, they just go up against the wall and hit the wall and hit the wall, because they’re depressed, there are such intellectual animals, that to do that to them is a travesty on so many different levels. So if, they are still doing it, and if you are thinking about going to see it, don’t, please.

Free Willy!

If you are ever planning on going to see an orca show, our suggestion is to bring flippers, orca snacks and a whole lot of courage because the only time you should ever go is to free the proverbial Willy who so desperately needs rescuing!

Thank you again for joining us this week for another fun episode of Wine Chats and make sure you tune back in next week, right here on The Nightly.