Do You Think Animal Sanctuaries are Helpful or Cruel?

I am always a little nervous about touring “animal sanctuaries”. Are they conservation or con? Are they profit or non-profit? Are the animals truly unable to return to the wild, or are they moneymakers so they stay in their cages? I really don’t know the answer to the question. If, as a sanctuary claims, illegal pets, like lions, alligators and tigers, are surrendered to the sanctuary, is it okay to make a profit off of them? And the other issue for me is a “show”. It makes me uncomfortable watching an animal do “tricks” for the amusement of humans. Learning is different, I enjoy looking at and learning about an animal. I am going to share photos of a trip I took to an animal sanctuary in the Everglades. They don’t paint a nice picture of the animals in their care, but they are building new enclosures and working with vets and animal experts to improve their environment. However, it is still difficult to see them in cages.