why animals should not be kept in zoos articles

Animals live in cruel conditions, confined to small cages without the enrichment they need to lead full, happy lives. They are used to collect exotic pets from owners who are looking to get rid of them. But it's clear, say welfare specialists, that captivity can compromise orcas' health. Due to the low density of the population of some animals in their natural ecosystems they struggle to find partners. Are Wildlife Sanctuaries Good for Animals? Reintroduced animals have a hard time coping with life in the wild after long periods away. All of these animals are well studied and have a plethora of documentaries and video footage of them in the wild. Your voice is needed, so that captive wild animals in the United States, and elsewhere, are better protected. See Related: How Similar is Human DNA to Other Animals. Carl Hegenbeck, a German exotic animal importer, introduced the modern model of more natural habitats for animals instead of obvious cages at his Animal Park in Hamburg in 1907. Your email address will not be published. Today, nearly every country in the world is a member of CITES. I dont see any problem with holding animals for display, Mr. Ashe told me. It is expensive and difficult to keep wild animals in captivity. The required standard of care for wild animals, such as those held by zoos, is wide-ranging and nigh on impossible for zoos to provide. The same applies to elephants. Zoos have been around for thousands of yearsas far back as 3500 BC in Egypt. When it comes to lethal force and animal welfare, at least, public opinion swiftly sides against zoos. Black-footed ferrets and red wolves in the United States and golden lion tamarins in Brazil all endangered, as well have been bred at zoos for reintroduction into the wild. zoos is usually not more than 200 animals per year, the organization said.) Zoos | Freedom for Animals An orangutan at the Omaha Zoo kept wire for lock-picking hidden in his mouth. These laws help the animals and also people, since wild animals in captivity present a serious public safety risk. Healthy animals in zoos are killed because they are not needed. They are removed from their natural habitats and confined to small limited spaces and often forced to perform tricks or entertain visitors. This is how animals get physical and psychological scars from abuse. A 2014 study by the Society for Conservation Biology found that of over 2,800 children surveyed following visits to London Zoo, 62% showed no positive learning outcomes. This could cause problems for the animal. They normally find themselves locked in cages, and only released into an artificial habitat when there are visitors at the zoo. See Related: Importance of Wildlife Conservation. Another problem of zoos is that animals often only have rather limited space to move. Life expectancy for animals in captivity depends on a couple of things, such as their way of life, among other factors. But, for every story that casts zoos in a bad light from Vince the rhino's poaching at Paris' Thoiry Zoo in March; Cincinnati Zoo shooting endangered gorilla, Harambe, last year after a child fell into his enclosure; or Copenhagen Zoo killing and publicly dissecting Marius, a two-year-old giraffe in 2014 there are heart-warming tales too. They argue that no animal should be forced to spend their life in an unnatural environment and perform. Some animals are quite intelligent so keeping them in captivity should never be an option. But the law excludes protection for birds, rats and mice, farmed animals and cold-blooded animals such as reptiles, amphibians and fish. Should zoos be banned? | National Geographic However, this is often not much more than an illusion for the customer. NASA's DART Mission Successfully Changed the Trajectory of Space Rock Dimorphos, Asteroid Ryugu Richly Harbors Building Blocks of Life, Scientists Reveal, SpaceXs Crew-6 Astronauts Aboard Dragon Capsule Endeavor Will Arrive at Space Station Early Friday [WATCH LIVE]. Caring for animals on a full-time basis requires someone who is both informed and cares about them. Copyrights 2023. Alas, theres plenty of heartbreaking evidence that many are not. The real question is, how can we change things? And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. What began as a way to pass time soon became a compulsion. Animals are an important part of nature and should have the right to live in their natural environment. The allure of baby animals and the crowds they pull can lead a zoological garden director to increase them to keep attracting customers. This was the first time that the ESA has successfully been used to protect captive wild animals. A largely unregulated trend is the hybrid breeding of wild cats with house cats, with predictably disastrous consequences. Many zoos will then resort to drugging animals in order to keep them docile and normal for the pleasure of the viewing public. Especially not for the broad spectrum of species they have in their park. As we snap a selfie by the sea lions for the first time in so long, it seems worth asking, after our collective ordeal, whether our pleasure in seeing wild animals up close is worth the price of their captivity. They go for the same reason people went to zoos in the 19th century: to be entertained. "Animals in zoos suffer tremendously, both physically and mentally. Things like ensuring animals arent caged and treated less than they deserve. The truth is that zoos are a prison for animals. Should Animals Be Kept In Zoos However, there are various reasons that explain why zoos are unethical. State And Local Laws: Strong state laws and even local laws have historically been a useful way to protect exotic and wild animals. A day may come, he said, when we need to breed elephants or tigers or polar bears in captivity to save them from extinction. A fine day out with the family might itself be justification enough for the existence of zoos if the zoo animals are all happy to be there. Cons of zoos Animal cruelty in zoos continues to be extremely common. worldanimalfoundation.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Other Programs, an affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to the Partners. Most zoos or animal sanctuaries dont have the space or the facilities to truly recreate the wild. This can make the animals neurotic, causing them to start biting bars, pacing repetitively, and swaying. Most people arent always comfortable seeing animals that are kept in zoos. The Los Angeles Zoo has used Celexa, an antidepressant, to control aggression in one of its chimps. Their lives in captivity can be harsh especially when the animal has been completely removed from its social structures. However, when the animals being culled arent in demand, they might find themselves facing death. The statistics on the number of big cats alone that have died in captivity between 1990 and 2021 is 126. Captive tigers pace back and forth, and in a 2014 study, researchers found that the time devoted to pacing by a species in captivity is best predicted by the daily distances traveled in nature by the wild specimens. It is almost as if they feel driven to patrol their territory, to hunt, to move, to walk a certain number of steps, as if they have a Fitbit in their brains. Zookeepers are not mustache-twirling villains. Some, however, argue that children benefit from zoos. When the caretakers are not well informed about the animals they are to be taking care of, it can be problematic. Wildlife experts said that the incident was just another proof that wild animals should not be kept captive because it would not happen had the dolphin was only in the wild. Lets get into the nitty-gritty details of why keeping animals in zoos is bad: Wild animals often suffer in captivity because they were meant to be free. Tatiana the tiger, kept in the San Francisco Zoo, snapped one day in 2007 after three teenage boys had been taunting her. Zoo keepers are often trained and specialize in a particular breed or species. This isnt always guaranteed since the breeding practices could be insufficient or even produce animals that are not suitable for survival in the wild. Elephants bob their heads over and over. Bears, lions, and other animals languish in roadside zoos across the country. Your email address will not be published. Should zoos exist essay: Should Zoos Still Exist or Not? The Arguments Likewise, consuming sustainable seafood provides a valuable source of food for people and helps promote sustainable jobs. People assume that because an animal can move great distances that they would choose to do that. If they have everything they need nearby, he argued, they would be happy with smaller territories. Mr. Ashe, a former director of the U.S. The first zoos housed animals behind metal bars in spartan cages. Especially animals like lions that are used to roaming vast distances in the wild in search of food. This paper is going to discuss why animals should not be kept in captivity. We say zoos are bad because animals are forced to live in unnatural, stressful, boring environments, leading to a lack of mental and physical stimulation. Its protections are minimal as well. More than 6,000 comments made by the visitors were recorded, nearly half of which were purely descriptive statements that asserted a fact about the exhibit or the animal. The researchers wrote, In all the statements collected, no one volunteered information that would lead us to believe that they had an intention to advocate for protection of the animal or an intention to change their own behavior.. Animals Should Not Be Kept in Captivity Persuasive Essay Zoo animals sustain both physical and psychological scars from harsh zookeepers. Their death can be caused by either: lack of space, physical problems, diet, and PTSD. There is no end to the risk of cross-contamination and disease spread, especially when considering the fact that lots of zoos fail to provide the correct standard of care. Increasingly, animals were presented with the distasteful fact of their imprisonment visually elided. If an animal cannot be given sufficient space or is suffering from stress and not behaving as expected, the zoo is within its right to kill the animal(s). See Related: Best Wildlife Conservation Jobs. The Arabian oryx, an antelope native to the Arabian Peninsula, went extinct in the wild in the 1970s and then was reintroduced into the wild from zoo populations. Reasons why people think keeping animals in zoos is bad for their welfare: the animal is deprived of its natural habitat; the animal may not have enough room; the animal is deprived of its natural . Captive animals are forced to spend their lives swimming endlessly and aimlessly instead of traveling up to 100 miles a day at fast speeds in the wild. When in their natural environments, wild animals are not used to being confronted by humans. When it rains, the topsoil gets washed away leaving the land more exposed. Many zoos create attractive enclosures to attract visitors. Ms. Marris is an environmental writer and the author of the forthcoming book Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World.. What if zoos stopped breeding all their animals, with the possible exception of any endangered species with a real chance of being released back into the wild? Jason Hribals 2010 book, Fear of the Animal Planet, chronicles dozens of attempts. [WATCH], Armored Dinosaur Magnificently Preserved After Face, Skin, Spikes Survived Fossilization. As long as there is demand should zoos exist essay them, zoos will continue to exist. Many animals in zoos are not used to confinement. Giant Insect From Jurassic Era Found in Walmart Opens Deeper Ecological Questions, 3,500-Year-old Perfectly Preserved, Mummified Bear Might Lead to 'Breakthrough in Ancient Animal Study', Presumed Extinct Funji-eating Fairy Lantern Plant Found Emerging Again in Japan, How Did Missing Argentinian Man's Remains Get Into a Shark's Stomach? What Mr. Ashe wants visitors to experience when they look at the animals is a sense of empathy for the individual animal, as well as the wild populations of that animal.. Display would be incidental. Animals are forced to live in artificial habitats that arent anywhere close to their former homes (the wild). See Related: Best Books on Endangered Species. Nature reserves, bird watching, going on a safari. And this is not a definite number of victims; there is probably a good number that hasnt been documented. Marine mammals are best protected by cleaning up and protecting their habitats. Animals begin to display erratic behaviors, self-mutilation, and an inability to settle. Captive Animals - Animal Legal Defense Fund All Rights Reserved. A common criticism is that the inspectors are often inadequately trained to look for sign of problems such as abuse and neglect. Animals in captivity can struggle to adapt to their new environment. Writing at the end of 2020, Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the United States. Many people consider zoos amoral and cruel while others have the notion . However, the truth remains that zoos often have insufficient knowledge of the animals they are housing. Zoos are expensive to run, often have a very tight budget, and cannot afford to maintain and support animals that do not pull their weight in terms of attraction. For some animals, reintroduction will always be difficult, such as baby elephants, or pet cheetahs, both of which habituate to human care very quickly, says Moore of IFAW. In the age of social media, high profile culls have sparked heated debates. There is no wild animal census in the United States, and many states have lax oversight, so any estimates about the population of wild animals in captivity is at best an educated guess. The most recent addition to the family, Willow, a cockapoo puppy, has settled straight into family life and now controls who sits where on the sofa. The A.Z.A.s policies allow for the euthanasia of animals, but the president of the association, Dan Ashe, told me, its very rarely employed by his member institutions. That's not a record that justifies tens of millions of wild animals kept in zoos. Even if the animals are being fed well, the lack of freedom can cause them to be stressed. Step away from the selfie stick. A criticism is that protections are less robust for species that are economically valuable, and that CITES is not as transparent in its decision-making or enforcement as would be ideal. These are species that would have vanished totally were it not for captive populations around the world, many of which reside in zoos (or, for plants, botanic gardens). Ive heard and read some of their stories. For example, Charles Harvey and Kurt House argue that subsidies for climate capture technologywill ultimately be a waste. If an untrained zookeeper comes across a stubborn animal, they might hurt it if they are impatient. Terrifying, Pre-Historic-Looking Fish Captured in the Ocean's Twilight Zone; What Is It? The trainer was immediately sent to the hospital and has since recovered from physical injuries, and so does the dolphin. The California condor breeding program, which almost certainly saved the species from extinction, includes five zoos as active partners. "Only 15% of the thousands of species held in zoos are considered 'threatened'," says Will Travers OBE, president of Born Free. Though some zoos plan on reintroducing the animals into the wild after a while, living in zoos makes it impossible for some animals. Some surplus animals or injured animals are even fed to predators as a means of life-cycle maintenance. Animal rights activists argue that hunting, capturing, and putting animals on display is unethical. They are just some of the millions of wild animals living in captivity across the United States. An estimated 20 red wolves are all that remain in the wild. 525 East Cotati Avenue,Cotati, CA 94931 Zoo elephants tend to die young. Declawing is extremely painful and causes permanent disability. Animals are removed from their natural habitats. However, in a zoo, the boundaries between the wild and captivity are rearranged. His father works for a large national Cat charity in the UK, and Alex has regularly taken part in fundraising events for them through the years. Many suffer from arthritis and other joint problems from standing on hard surfaces; elephants kept alone become desperately lonely; and all zoo elephants suffer mentally from being cooped up in tiny yards while their free-ranging cousins walk up to 50 miles a day. See Related: Endangered Species in California. What Cause Extinction What Can We Do To Stop It? Another similar behavior of flirting is freezing, in which an animal does not move when there is no way of escape, like being caught in a trap or net even though they are terrified. Zoo animals, this new narrative went, function as backup populations for wild animals under threat, as well as ambassadors for their species, teaching humans and motivating them to care about wildlife. Keeping endangered animals in zoos infringes on those individuals' rights to freedom. Id like to think these kids, now in their early 20s, are working for a conservation organization somewhere. We do know that common animals kept as pets include lions, tigers, cougars, ocelots, servals, wolves, bears, alligators, snakes and nonhuman primates like chimpanzees. Elephants, lions, tigers, rhinos, and such. WHY ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE KEPT IN CAPTIVITY - Adobe Slate Outside of providing sufficient space to allow natural behaviors to develop, issues such as climate, diet, and the formation of a social hierarchy where appropriate make running a zoo a difficult task. Those who reported a sense of connection to the animals at the zoo also correlated positively with general environmental concern. So when they face a threat, wild animals believe that they should survive by fleeing, fighting, flirting, or freezing. On the other hand, some animals try to flirt their way to protect their nest. For example, if the number of lions is drastically reduced in an area, their prey will thrive. A few zoos are famous for their conservation work. Sadly, most of these associations end up protecting the interests of their members, and not the animals they should be protecting. In zoos, elephants are often given a small outside enclosure and an internal house. This is nowhere near enough space to provide an elephant with a life comparable to that of its wild counterparts. The lack of enough vegetation will then lead to global warming due to less carbon in the atmosphere. At the end of the day, Zoos are largely unethical places that are built under the pretense of habitat conservation but really are there to earn money and entertain people who want to be able to say they saw real-life wild animals. Its protections are minimal as well. The worst climate risks, mapped: In this feature, select a country, and we'll break down the climate hazards it faces. Meanwhile, small changes at the officemight be one good way to cut significant emissions, writes Carlos Gamarra. Now, Alex writes full-time, and when hes not working on an article, hes knee-deep in writing fiction. This alone increases the risk of disease, as animals are exposed to viruses they have never encountered before. When it comes from unsustainable sources it is a key cause of deforestation, impacting many species like orangutans and tigers. In most cases, animals in zoos lead very unhappy lives. Going to the zoo is often quite affordable. Even when properly fed and well housed, they can never be fully relaxed in confined spaces. Humans have kept wild animals for thousands of years. 2. See Related: What Is The Hunters Role in Wildlife Conservation? You can surely help these animals by refusing to visit zoos and instead supporting sanctuaries where animals live in natural habitats. In some environments, we believe it's best not to keep certain wild animals at all, as their needs simply can't be met. Due in part to unnatural enclosures, animals in zoos are under stress. See Related: Are Humans Animals? Non-native animals are held in conditions that vary greatly from what they are used to living in. "We engage huge audiences with wildlife, inspiring the conservationists of tomorrow," argues zoological director of ZSL London and Whipsnade Zoos, Professor David Field. Zoo owners go to great lengths to build enclosures that have a wild aesthetic and give paying visitors a taste of the wild world. The ESA outlines procedures for federal agencies to follow regarding listed species, as well as criminal and civil penalties for violations. A 2000 survey of U.S. and Canadian zoos found that nearly half of respondents were giving their gorillas Haldol, Valium or another psychopharmaceutical drug. While zoos can definitely be exciting places for families to visit, the fact remains that they are bad for animals. In one escape, they worked together: One held a mop handle steady while her sister climbed it to freedom. Its said that Texas has the worlds second-largest tiger population, due to private citizens propensity for keeping these big cats as pets. In 2014, the Animal Legal Defense Fund successfully brought a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act against a roadside zoo called the Cricket Hollow Animal Park, that was mistreating protected animals. Randy Of Savage Garage Net Worth, Johns Hopkins Prostate Cancer Second Opinion, Murray Hebert Fishn More Gender, Trinidad, Colorado Obituaries 2022, Articles W