J Mann Wrote:
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> The sad thing is that in the long run PETA may
> have won this fight but they will lose the war.
> If people are not exposed to the elephants then
> how can they have an appreciation of them to want
> to do anything to save them? You can say they can
> be seen in zoos but PETA is also against elephants
> in zoos. Even the new huge elephant habitat the
> Oregon Zoo just finished is not good enough for
> them. They say they should be at wildlife
> preserves. That's fine, but how many of wildlife
> preserves are there in the US that are suuitable
> for elephants? How many elephants can they hold?
> Most of all, how many people will ever see an
> elephant again?
>
> It's like steam engines. We all would like to see
> them in the "wild" pulling a fast passenger train
> or slugging upgrade with a heavy freight. But
> those days are gone. So we get to see them in
> parks as static displays (zoos) or on tourist
> railroads pulling a train that they never would
> have pulled in regular service. Purists complain
> about the tourist trains, but they do keep steam
> engines alive and just about everyone in the US is
> within a days drive of a chance to see a live
> steam engine. But what if all the steam engines
> in the nation were moved to "locomotive parks" in
> southern California, Texas and Florida? How long
> would it be before no-one thought about steam
> anymore? How long before the number of people
> financially supporting those locomotive parks
> decline to the point where the parks cannot stay
> open? The only reason steam is alive today is
> that people who were exposed to it wants to keep
> it around. By the same token, the only reason
> people in the US care about elephants is that they
> have seen them in the circus or the zoo. Without
> exposure to elephants future generations won't
> care about them anymore. If you don't care then
> why spend any effort to save them?

I neither lament nor applaud the end of circuses. I have no use for PETA. I offend both hunters and "animal rights" activists with my belief that deer are nothing more than rats with hooves.

That said, can you provide any evidence that donations to organizations (or letters to wildlife officials) working to save elephants spike any time there is a circus performance or that visitors to zoos are more likely to donate to such organizations (or write letters advocating saving elephants than people interested in animals who do not attend circuses or visit zoos?

I reject your assertion that circuses have done much to promote conservation of elephants. Zoos may help the cause of elephant conservation a little by providing information about elephant habitats, threats to elephants' survival and information about organizations working to save elephants.

However, there are plenty of people who are not PETA members who do not attend circuses or zoos, but are very much concerned about wildlife in the US and other nations. Unfortunately, they are regularly ridiculed on AP and elsewhere as "tree huggers" and worse.

Even more unfortunate, the former strip club owner and "reality" TV show host now in the White House has demonstrated little knowledge of wildlife biology and ecology and is stunningly indifferent wildlife conservation.