From your comment, I thought that you may have skipped the article, but I threw in the zoo comment to broaden the discussion of humane treatment of animals.

I am an avid outdoorsman and I have explored many of the wild places of North America. I have seen herds of caribou, wolf packs, foxes, bears, beavers, moose, countless waterfowl and upland game in their native habitat, but there's something about caged animals that depresses me. They just don't look happy. I know that I am anthropomorphizing here, but they certainly don't look like they do in the wild.

I have never been to South America, Antarctica, Africa or Asia, but with today's extraordinary documentary films and the HD resolution of modern flat screens, I have been able to observe flora and fauna as if I had been to all the continents. I have also viewed documentaries on caribou, moose and deer which, though I have personally observed them in the wild many times, showed me more than I ever saw on my own and I had the narrations of a naturalist to broaden my understanding of what I was seeing.

I guess I have come to question the need for zoos. I think game preserves are a great idea for research and preserving species for study, but zoos... that's another matter. I think zoos have become an anachronism and there are better ways to learn about these creatures than by caging them. Anyway, just some thoughts.

I'm sorry, I misread the article and was in a rush so I only glanced through it, so I saw "possum drop" and was worried.

As for zoos they are not only educational but many times help protect species that are in danger and help preserve them so knowledge of them can be more easily garnered.

Amen.

This is absolute harmless fun. People make a stink about the most unimportant stuff and keep their mouths clamped shut about things that are of the most importance. We live in a "feel-good" bullshit society.

It's only ok to kill an animal when it's a direct threat to human or domesticated animal, or to feed and clothes humans.
All animals were wild at one time. That's what the word domesticate means. To make tame that which is feral.
Animals have the same rights as humans? That's where I draw my line.
Our society is strange because we allowed it.
A song says it best, "Teach your children well".

Actually to capture a possum, place him in the custody of a vetrenarian for a couple of days, display him for a couple hours and then set him free back into the wild, would not be considered sensless violence by most people.

How do you feel about zoos? Educational forums for humans or torture chambers for animals?

Im conflicted. On one hand animals do not in anyway shape or form have the same rights we do nor deserve these same rights. But on the other hand I cannot agree with any senseless violence towards animals just for amusement.