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Views 1146 | High Intermediate 6

Captivity

Todd and Paul discuss animals living in captivity rather than in the wild.

Script
Vocab
Quiz



Paul	Todd

Todd: Well, you seem like a person who's really conscious about animals. Would you have gone? If you saw the advertisements to go and be next to these tigers, would you go?

Paul: I mean, I think it's obviously like a special opportunity. It doesn't come around that often to get so close to these tigers. I mean, my main concern would be that whether the tigers are taken care of and how much we should meddle with nature, why we should just allow that kind of animal kingdom to run its course, or we should interfere in that and, you know, put these animals in captivity so that we can touch them, just for our own kind of curiosity. I wonder whether it's a price, you know, I mean, whether it's something we should do morally.

Todd: Yeah, that's true. There is another way to look at it, though, and that is, according to one of the trainers, you know. If the tiger was in the wild, you know, it would have a rough life as well, and you have encroachment, you have poachers. And by having tiger farms like this, they can guarantee the species; they can guarantee that it goes on. Obviously, they want to protect the tigers in the wild, but by having a domestic population as well, that's also beneficial for the long-term health of the species.

Paul: Hm.

Todd: So, I guess, you could kind of look at it that way, but maybe that's faulty logic.

Paul: Yeah. Maybe we're applying kind of human concepts to animals, and it doesn't always -

Todd: Maybe if you asked the tigers, they'd feel differently perhaps.

Paul: I don't know how I'd feel about keeping animals in captivity just for kind of human enjoyment. However, I did spend some time in Australia, and that was working with fruit bats. All of the bats that were held in captivity were actually bats that have been rescued. It's kind of a place where they would be able to have longer lives, because they wouldn't have survived due to certain disabilities or injuries. So, I think there is a certain good way or certain benefit that we can offer to animals by keeping them in captivity.

Todd: True.

Paul: Unfortunately, it seems like in some countries, animals are not really taken care of properly. What do you think about that?

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

conscious

You seem conscious about animals.

Here, the word conscious is similar in meaning to 'concerned'. Notice the following:

Nowadays, students seem more environmentally conscious.
Nowadays, students seem more environmentally concerned .

be next to

You be next to the tigers.

The preposition 'next to' means to be beside or close to someone or something. Notice the following:

He flew home to be next to his ill mother.
Just standing next to her was exciting.

meddle with nature

We meddle with nature.

To meddle with nature occurs when humans try to change things that happen naturally in the environment. Notice the following:

Meddling with nature can be dangerous.
I don't think captive breeding is really meddling with nature.

poachers

Tigers face difficulties with poachers.

Poachers illegally kill animals for their ivory, skin or body parts. Notice the following:

Poachers are difficult to catch.
Poaching of elephants continues in many parts of Africa.

faulty logic

Maybe that's faulty logic.

An example of faulty logic might be: poachers kill tigers for "medicinal" parts so poaching must be good. The medicinal value of these parts is based on cultural beliefs when in fact, they have no proven health benefits. Notice the following: