Re "Rare Sumatran tiger born at zoo" (Page B3, March 12): The article quoted the director of the Sacramento Zoo as saying that this birth contributed to the species survival plan. Zoos claim this for the species that they hold captive, but the truth is that these animals will never be back in the wild and therefore will never contribute to the survival of their species, only to zoos' breeding program, and captivity, a life they would never have chosen. These animals, given a choice would rather be free.
The species survival plan in which the Sacramento Zoo participates is a marketing slogan used to trick the public into thinking that what they are doing is somehow globally helping these animals when it simply is not. It only helps other zoos hold these animals in cages for their entire lifetimes. Sad, very sad indeed.
-- Galen Hazelhofer, Sacramento
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