I'm having a bit of a talk with a close friend of mine who doesnt believe in keeping animals in tanks or cages, I know there are people on this forum including pitbulllady who have experience countering their arguments and i was wondering if anyone can help me strengthen my arguments. Heres the convo so far on facebook.
Friend: you know what is better? stop thinking it's okay to horde animals in tanks.
Me: i'm sure they appreciate not starving or being eaten by other animals as both are natural conditions for most animals in the wild. They'll also appreciate it after their natural habitats have been completely plowed over and replaced with oil drills and parking lots and the natural populations are completely extinct, at which point captive bread populations will be the only things remaining. Certainly captive arachnids and snakes in the pet trade tend to have as much or more space then they prefer considering they like enclosed spaces. I'm sure dogs appreciate being horded in houses.
Friend: Dogs get to go outside, take walks, go to the parks, lizards are stuck in a small glass tank. You're making excuses. It's just like saying "I bought a dog from a puppymill because I didn't want to watch it suffer... " it's only replaced by another puppy, or more.
Me: Wolves travel miles and miles in an average day, far more exercise than a captive dog can ever get unless it's owner is an olympic runner or long distance professional hiker or something. On the other hand tarantulas live their entire lives in burrows or tube webs that arnt much bigger than they are, and snakes will stay perfectly still in the same place for days or even weeks at a time while they wait for prey to walk past. These arnt animals that benefit in anyway from large amounts of space or exercise.
Friend: you know what is better? stop thinking it's okay to horde animals in tanks.
Me: i'm sure they appreciate not starving or being eaten by other animals as both are natural conditions for most animals in the wild. They'll also appreciate it after their natural habitats have been completely plowed over and replaced with oil drills and parking lots and the natural populations are completely extinct, at which point captive bread populations will be the only things remaining. Certainly captive arachnids and snakes in the pet trade tend to have as much or more space then they prefer considering they like enclosed spaces. I'm sure dogs appreciate being horded in houses.
Friend: Dogs get to go outside, take walks, go to the parks, lizards are stuck in a small glass tank. You're making excuses. It's just like saying "I bought a dog from a puppymill because I didn't want to watch it suffer... " it's only replaced by another puppy, or more.
Me: Wolves travel miles and miles in an average day, far more exercise than a captive dog can ever get unless it's owner is an olympic runner or long distance professional hiker or something. On the other hand tarantulas live their entire lives in burrows or tube webs that arnt much bigger than they are, and snakes will stay perfectly still in the same place for days or even weeks at a time while they wait for prey to walk past. These arnt animals that benefit in anyway from large amounts of space or exercise.