Caged or uncaged, give animals their rightful place

Few people would disagree that the Dubai Zoo has an excellent collection of animals, ranging from tigers to giraffes and brightly-coloured parrots.

However, the conditions the animals are kept in at the Jumeirah site are perhaps less impressive and there have long been calls for Dubai to have a new zoo.

The Dh200 million zoo will eventually cover more than 200 hectares near Mushrif Park and much of it will be designed as a safari park giving the animals much more space than they currently have.

In a Gulf News poll on the subject, 66.3 per cent of people said they thought zoos were "relevant in this day and age", while 31.1 per cent said they were not with 2.6 per cent unsure.

Indian sales engineer Hind Abdul Wahid, 25, welcomed the decision to build a new zoo and said there was nothing wrong with keeping animals in captivity if they had enough space.

"A sanctuary where the animals are protected and the people who visit are protected as well is fine. A sort of artificially created natural habitat is what's needed.

"That means people can enjoy sightseeing and the animals are taken care of as well," she said.

He said "everybody likes looking at animals, especially kids" so it was not wrong in principle to keep collections of animals.

Kuwaiti student Mohammad Al Maidhan, 23, said it was important for Dubai to have a "world-class zoo".

Sales and marketing worker Kamal Issrani, 30, from India, said "open zoos" without cages were acceptable.

"There are many excellent sanctuaries in my home country something like that would be good here," he said.

"It is very educational, especially in Dubai where there is not as much wildlife as in some other parts of the world.

"You do not see buffalo roaming round. I am glad they are making a new zoo so that people can learn more about animals," he said.

Rachel Robertson, 27, an office worker from England, said: "I don't really agree in principle with zoos, but it is better to have a couple of well-run zoos where people can enjoy animals."

Her friend Steve Markey, 26, also an office worker from England, said he too had reservations about keeping animals out of their natural habitat, but thought that it could be justified if it was done properly.

"Generally I am in favour of animals being left in the wild but if the zoo has a breeding programme to preserve endangered species then it's worthwhile," he said.

Sue Muncer, 59, a housewife from the United Kingdom, also took the view that it was alright to keep animals in captivity if it meant saving a species from extinction.

"As long as they are being well looked after then it is OK to keep them for conservation reasons. Zoos can also do an educational job by enabling people to see wild animals," she said.

British company director Alexander Young said he was mostly against having creatures in zoos or safari parks. "My main concern is the welfare of the animals and I much prefer to see animals in their natural environment," he said.

Russian housewife Marina Kouzlakova, 36, was against keeping animals at all even if they were able to roam.

"I never go to the zoo for myself, only sometimes to show my children, because I think they are wrong. It is not just a matter of how much space the animals have," she said.