speaking, uh, as a formerly-trafficked sex worker, it’s extremely difficult to come forward as a trafficking victim in countries where sex work is criminalized; you just… get criminalized under those same anti-prostitution laws. of course reported trafficking would increase when the sole fact of coming forward as a sex worker at all no longer endangers you.
This line of argument is the same one that you see with conservatives who point to the increase in divorce rates as proof that making divorce safer is endangering marriage, while ignoring the massive drops in domestic abuse, murder, and suicide.
It’s a shot argument with them, and it’s a shot argument here.
Noooo, no no no. The fact isn’t actually “countries where prostitution is legal have higher rates of human trafficking,” it’s “countries where prostitution is legal have higher rates of reported human trafficking.” Because, as @patrexes explains, trafficked sex workers are not going to report themselves if it results in them being thrown in prison. Duh.
But people can do all kinds of fun statistical research like this to support their discrimination of marginalised groups. Countries where being gay is punishable by death have fewer gay people, countries where abortions are illegal have fewer abortions, etc., etc. Except it turns out that when your research project also takes unreported cases into account, whoops, all countries have the same percentage of gay people and approximately the same abortion rates (good sexual education and access to contraceptives do lower abortion rates in some countries, mind), it’s just that people don’t tell authorities that they’re gay or had an abortion if they’ll be imprisoned or executed for reporting it.
Most behaviors that you see keepers demonstrate at the zoo or aquarium are natural behaviors that the animals do in the wild. When the animals do them, the keepers give them a treat and pair it with a gesture or a word, so that they associate them, and eventually the word or gesture is enough to elicit the behavior because the animal knows that there’s a reward. But here’s the thing: most of those behaviors are encouraged because they help veterinarians and keepers do health checks.
Yeah, its cute when they nose boop the stick, but also keepers need to check their vision and depth perception and mobility. Sea lions are so cute when they wave! But vets and keepers need to check under those flippers to make sure that they’re healthy and that they don’t have any restrictions on their motion or cuts on their skin. Why do they ask animals to jump? Again, to make sure that they’re healthy, and also because its fun and animals LOVE to move around and jump and have fun, its mentally stimulating.
This is the most important thing I will ever reblog and anyone who is still ignorant enough to think zoos are awful can fuck off my blog. Zoos are necessary. If you think otherwise please unfollow me because I don’t want you here.
This is super important for people to see. I have worked at a zoo and I can not tell you how many times I’ve had to defend the zoo for the good they do. People need to learn that zoos are actually helping save endangered species.
Remember: Sea World is not a zoo and doesn’t really care about animals unless they can make a profit. Fuck Sea World.
Alternatively, Busch Gardens does care for their animals.
Captain-Radioactive-Mentality 