Thinking about the brain-melting hypocrisy of people who eat meat, but who don’t want to visit the zoo because they “don’t like to see animals in cages.”

Like, what exactly do you assume the quality of life is like for those animals that end up on your plate?

I have been a vegetarian for 19 years, and I try really hard not to be judgmental of other people’s lifestyle choices - you can’t motivate someone to change from a place of defensiveness. However, you should realize how astoundingly ignorant you sound when you say things like that.

Short explanation: zoos today are not what you remember from your childhood. Those “cages” that you recall are now beautifully maintained enclosures that mimic the animals’ native habitat to the best of our ability. AZA accredited facilities are centers of education and conservation efforts. Many of the animals you see are on Species Survival Plans, which are sometimes the only thing standing between that species and extinction. It’s vitally important for people to be able to see these amazing creatures in person: books and documentaries, while important, are no substitution for the impression that is made with a real life encounter. To see something is to take it from the abstract and into reality; to see it is to want to save it.

And while we’re at it, if you are so opposed to animals in cages, why don’t you do a little research on the unmitigated cruelty and violence that is the animal agriculture industry - which is to say nothing of the slaughter process itself.