How big was the zoo?

I grew up near a zoo that's pretty big and tends to take really good care of the animals. Some exhibits, especially those in the newer Africa section, don't even have any obvious fences because the cages were designed with natural walls. The result was that while they had some older exhibits that felt like jails, those were being phased out in favor of the more natural ones.

When I got older I was surprised to find out that exhibits like that weren't normal. It wasn't normal for the tigers to have 2-3 acres of land, with visitors viewing the tigers from bridges. It wasn't normal for the ostriches, elephants, zebras and giraffes to share a massive exhibit covering a quarter of the park.

What was normal, was putting them in tiny boxes.

What the fuck?

However, it is because of my experiences growing up that I believe zoos can be ethically created and maintained. The issue is that they need a lot of space and funding to do so, which they rarely get.

Zoos do more than just hold animals. They are vital in the preservation and recovery of many animals.

Sure. But that's your and your kid's privileged experience. My child has the same privilege.

The whole of humanity needs that same experience.

My cat just decided to move into my house one day. That was that. She doesn't like when I play videos on my ipad with the sound on. I don't do it without headphones anymore. She doesn't like when I cook spicy foods, I installed a kitchen door and a window fan to keep the smells out of the rest of the house. She doesn't like when the blinds are all the way down and she can't see outside. They are never less than 6 inches from the window sill. She doesn't like it when I eat without sharing, I always have plain chicken to put on my plate to give to her. I'm pretty sure I am the one who has been domesticated.