Letters to the editor:
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Zoos Unacceptable

Aaack! When I picked up your issue on "Knoxville's Best," I was astonished to see that readers voted the Knoxville Zoo the "best place to take children." What is going on with Metro Pulse readers? Zoos, by their very existence, teach children that is it acceptable to keep wild animals in cages. Zoos use the flimsy excuse of preventing extinction through captive breeding to say that without them, species would become extinct. In turn, this allows more and more habitat destruction. If we really want to prevent animals' extinction, we should focus on saving habitat. By sticking an animal in a zoo, we are essentially saying, "go ahead, destroy habitat, it'll be all right because we'll keep the animal(s) alive in captivity." I think the word "captivity" speaks for itself as to the kind of "life" animals in zoos must endure. Many animals in zoos, such as elephants and chimpanzees, have complex social structures in the wild that cannot be reproduced in captivity. So we may be "saving" a species, but what is the point if the remaining members of a species cannot act upon their instincts? Oh sure, maybe there's something we humans hope to gain from keeping animals in captivity, but let's face it, at the end of the day, we get to go home and be in our natural habitats. These animals have no choice to make. They are at our mercy. Isn't it possible that just because we want something (to see an elephant up close, for example), that this is just selfishness? Isn't it possible that we humans could get along just fine without ever seeing an elephant up close? When we think of what the elephant must endure, isn't it just possible that we can see the untold benefit to ourselves by allowing wild animals to be just that—wild animals.

If I had children, I would take them someplace like a park, or perhaps a nature center, and show them the wildlife that lives here—the squirrels, the crows, the occasional groundhog—all of whom have their own beauty, but are so common that we tend to forget how important they are, too. I would learn the names of trees and insects and teach the kids about their own habitat in the hopes that they would wish to save the treasures in their own backyards, and at the same time would not support the sad lives of animals in captivity.

Wendy Kobylarz
Kodak

Quick Budget Fixes

This morning, Monday, May 13, I heard State Sen. Tim Burchett on WIVK News saying that the lobbyists he had spoken to are not against the state income tax. I wondered why Mr. Burchett had not told the reporter about the feelings of his constituents.

Until state legislators consider the following recommendations (which are both obvious and easier to pass into law than the state income tax), then I see the income tax as a quick fix that benefits the legislators first, lobbyists second, voters third, and I venture to say children and the poor last.

First, simply raise the tobacco tax. This has not been done in 33 years and not only would add monies to the general fund, but also would keep thousands of young people from starting smoking, as well as help the tobacco farmer. Second, change the antiquated dedicated gasoline tax (circa. 1920s) to go, not to TDOT, but to the general fund. This would first force TDOT to get their money from the same place education and health care departments receive their money (the general fund). It might also stop both unnecessary road building, i.e. the South Knoxville Boulevard extension, and unnecessary road expansion, i.e. Route 321 into Gatlinburg.

Until both of these quick fixes have been done and their money added to the general fund, I cannot understand the need to pass an (unwanted by this voter) income tax or state lottery.

Jeannie Ullrich
Knoxville