Online: join the debate at ireland.com/head2head

Last week, Bernie Wright and Veronica Chrisp debated the question "Should zoos be closed?" Here is an edited selection of your comments:

YES 49% NO 51%

Though I respect Bernie's undoubted passion and commitment to animal rights, I've voted no to the closure of zoos. Civilised societies are moving, if very slowly, to a new general conception of animal life. We ought change and expand the nature of zoos; the role they play in education, conservation and the fomenting of wider global environmental awareness.

Iosaf Mac Diarmada, Spain

In an increasingly desperate time for the natural world, zoological facilities have become a kind of modern Noah's Ark for the preservation of endangered and pressured species around the world. Although no containment can ever replace a natural habitat, no lost species can ever be replaced, either. In the modern age, accredited facilities provide the best possible care in the best possible environment for imperilled species that otherwise might be lost entirely.

Ben Tripp, United States

I support closing of all zoos and developing care and protection in the surrounding zone of the wild forests and natural parks.

Elena Lacroix, France

According to Bernie Wright 600 animals in 60 acres works out at 100 animals per acre. "Even with limited mathematical skills" indeed. Not the only pitfall in her outdated and unhelpful opinion piece, but definitely the most entertaining and I felt it summed up the calibre of her article quite well.

Jimmy Wiseman, Ireland

It is interesting that Ms Chrisp begins by suggesting that zoos have moved on from stale and old-fashioned ideas about keeping nonhuman animals in captivity, for she ends her piece with quite a Victorian appeal to how zoos socialise children's attitudes to animals. How would children learn about nonhuman animals, she asks, cleverly ruling out the use of the TV because, of course, the wildlife documentary is streets ahead of any zoo in terms of teaching respect for animals. However, what interested me most was Ms Chrisp's utterly conventional response to questions about human-nonhuman relations. It is quite orthodox for animal users to respond to animal rights questions with appeals to animal welfarism and conservation. This ignores and often fails to understand the animal rights position that conceives of nonhuman animals as rights bearers and sees much of what humans do to other animals as rights violations.

Roger Yates, Ireland

People should not confuse animal rights with animal welfare, they are not the same. The animal rights philosophy is ill-conceived logic which is detrimental to both the welfare of animals and humans; it is also abhorrent to the principles of evolution - animal rights activists are a sad unfortunate group of people out of touch with reality. Zoos are essential, if we actually care about the welfare of animals and the future conservation of endangered species.

Chris Newman, United Kingdom

Zoos hide behind the facade of "conservation" and "education". In truth, they offer neither. The only solution to conserving animal species is to protect their natural habitat. It has been estimated that protecting elephants in the wild is around 50 times cheaper than keeping them in zoos. If zoos are the bastions of conservation, why are precious few of their exhibits listed as threatened? Many species are in zoos just to bring in the crowds - so-called hyper-charismatic mega fauna - and are not threatened or endangered.

Garry Sheen, United Kingdom

Zoos eventually will be the only place to find most of the endangered species. Until we can raise the human condition in Third World countries, these people will continue to kill and eliminate many species for financial gain. We need a place to continue these species. Let's help the Third World. Let's help humans - then the animals will be saved, too.

M E Clark, United States

What can anyone learn from watching bored, frustrated animals pace around totally inadequate zoo enclosures? Saving children the bother of having to switch on the TV is a high price for animals to pay indeed, even if something were to be learned from watching them in a zoo enclosure.

Margaret Grealish, Ireland

At any cost I wouldn't bring my child to the zoo, just to see the misery and sadness of it. Come on people, it's the 2st century, slavery was abolished long ago.

Martin Rosenberg, Ireland

What do we learn about animals which live in zoos? Nothing, except how animals live in zoos!

Den, United Kingdom

There is absolutely nothing that can compare with seeing an animal up close. Viewing a species through books and cameras serves only to detach us from them, and therefore leads to less caring about their survival.

Karen Clymer, United States

Frankly it is facile to urge for zoos to be closed for animals' sake. I doubt that those who voted yes are all vegetarians, or avoid products tested on animals. It really is a handful of animals that "suffer" in captivity, assured healthcare and nutrition.

Anna, Germany

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times