London Zoo yay or nay

[warrenpfo]

I am off all of next week and wondered about taking the family to London Zoo. Its not a cheap day out £45 just to get in and we still need to get there.

Anyone been and is it worth it or are there better things to do?

 

[TonyP]

Never been a fan of zoo's... having said that London zoo is ok and a good day out for the kids. This is a much better visit though:
http://www.zsl.org/zsl-whipsnade-zoo//p ... 60,AR.html

 

[uHu]

Animals in captivity
I'll put you in a cage. See how that feels.
Are you going to show them how not to treat animals?

Nah, not really that radical. Just a thought...

 

[warrenpfo]

Tony coming from SA I too am not a fan of zoo's but am keen for my daughter who is only 7 months to have her first "encounter" with animals as she is starting to be very inquisitive.

Saying that it may be a waste of time for her and seen as we are heading back to SA she will get all the animals she wants in their natural environment.

ZSL looks good but for her to be in the car and us try to point out the animals is just not going to work until she is a little older I think.

 

[TonyP]

We actually parked up and walked around, so not stuck in car. Been a while though

 

[Gary Stockton]

If you've. It done London eye, that's interesting. So is tower of London / surprisingly so. And being so close to the tunnel there's a day trip or more to Paris on the train - or even a it of camping ...

 

[Ecoman]

There are hundreds of reasons for and against Zoos and Safari Parks.

IMO if the Zoo is involved with a breeding or protection program for a number of species or are there to educate people into being more aware of their environment and the protection of it then I'm all for them.

I don't like to see them attached to theme parks and I especially don't like to see performing animals. Zoos that are struggling financially and are in a poor state tend to be ones set up be businesses to make money or have had funding pulled as the research is no longer viable or sustainable. A few of these places spring to mind but I daren't say them on a public forum for fear of litigation.

London Zoo is thankfully one of the good guys and tick many of the boxes for study, education, protection and breeding programs.

 

[fridayman]

I used to be anti-zoo until I came to the UK and realised how many people had never seen an elephant, or a baboon, or a crocodile... Consequently many people also don't feel any real connection to nature and/or wild animals. I think that if people don't have this connection, it becomes a lot harder to protect the environment. Zoo's give people a chance to see these creatures for themselves, and hopefully makes people a little bit more aware and sympathetic towards protecting the environment.

 

[TonyP]

End of the day I hate seeing large animals (cats, elephant, etc) in cages that they can't stretch their legs in... Just saddens me, although I do understand the points about conservation, and education

 

[Crispin]

The same, I dislike zoos for the same reasons listed but at the same time, it allows most Londoners the chance to view animals they would otherwise never see. Not fair on the animal though.
Felt sorry for a leopard at London zoo who had paced a trench along his fence. I watched him pace and he looked anxious and frantic as he paced the fence. Felt really bad so I put the T-Bone back in my cooler bag (TIC)

The upside and very important to zoos are the research and good they do for animals and all things animal.

I've been to London zoo as well as Whipsnade and would say Whipsnade is perhaps nicer. Less of a zoo feel.

When at Edinburgh zoo I pointed out the lesser freckled Scotsman in some of the enclosures to my daughter. While she and some of the other tourists laughed, the people cleaning the enclosure were not too happy.

 

[SpinDrift]

If you want animal encounters for a small child, why dont you go to Odds Farm - its pretty close to you. They have farm yard animals not exotic species, but there is animal feeding and I think you can hold some of them. At 7 months, your daughter is not going to know the difference between a zebra and a pony

http://www.oddsfarm.co.uk/

 

[Ecoman]

If you want animal encounters for a small child, why dont you go to Odds Farm - its pretty close to you. They have farm yard animals not exotic species, but there is animal feeding and I think you can hold some of them. At 7 months, your daughter is not going to know the difference between a zebra and a pony

http://www.oddsfarm.co.uk/

I bet your the kinda guy that sucks the colour off smarties and tells the kids they are limited edition white ones