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The consequences of zoos for animals
The consequences of zoos for animals
Negative effects of zoos on animals
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A trip to the zoo or aquarium may seem like one of the most thrilling events during childhood. Without notice, naive speculators pay to walk into an animal Jailhouse. “Even the best zoos today are based on captivity and coercion,” says Jon Coe, the legendary zoo designer (Worland). These places of entertainment come across as heaven on earth for the animals, let alone those who get the chance to work with the animals appear to hold the best careers, but behind the names of these animal entertainment industries underlie dangerous and inhumane actions that harm both the animals and humans.
The animal entertainment industry has remained in operation for over 60 years. The most notorious of them all holds the name of SeaWorld. SeaWorld ranks high
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In actuality, conservation remains as an inferior aspect and viewers, especially children, face the exposure of coercion rather than zoological education. In fact, “A study found that at four zoos in the U.S. found that only 6% of visitors said they go to a zoo to learn more about animals, while 86% of visitors said they went to the zoo for social or recreational purposes” (Animals Australia). This study verifies that seeing an animal behind a tank does not necessarily educate speculators about the animal’s natural habits. Anti-supporters retaliate against the advocates of these animal entertainment industries by declaring that confinement of wild animal life causes more damage to our partners on this planet, which overrides the minimal purposes of education and …show more content…
Keeping wild animals in imprisonment for the benefit of entertainment causes harmful effects to both the animals, the caretakers, and speculators. Essentially, “Zoo animals never enjoy freedom, privacy or natural existences. Zoos teach all the wrong lessons: that it is acceptable to imprison animals, to deprive them of free of flight and travel, to forbid them the chance to establish their natural territory, to breed and separate them as we, not they, please; and to let them go nuts from a great loneliness of spirit” (Newkirk 95). Humans and animals receive mental, physical, and emotional effects from the animal entertainment industry. Mentally, the animals remain deprived from their natural instincts, while humans are brainwashed by the corrupt animal entertainment industries. Physically, the animals withstand detainment by the improper environment, diet, and temperature exposure, while humans experience fatal aggression from the infuriated wild animals. Emotionally, the animals encounter the deprivation from their loved ones and fixated into sanctuaries of relative strangers, while humans sense the pain of guilt over the idea that a helpless living creature grows up confined in a cage for the rest of their life and humans encourage it. Often, humans forget that mankind is not the only species to inhabit earth. With this
711 million people a year sponsor the act of kidnapping, torture, and starvation around the world. If you’ve ever been to a zoo, aquarium or a Seaworld park, you’re one of those 711 million people. Lately, controversy has struck the world over the treatment of animals in those types of facilities. There are many good rehabilitation centers in zoos worldwide that help injured, endangered or ill animals, which is why a lot of people do support them. However, there is a darker side to these parks and facilities. These animals cruel pasts and hidden lives will never be heard unless we help. Help them escape their tortured lives, and see their families they were ripped from when they were only babies. Be the voice of the voiceless and shut down
Animal rights have become a very serious issue here in the United States over the last few decades. One issue that has been discussed is whether or not zoos serve a good purpose or are they just a torture chamber for the animals. Locked up in small cages so people can yell at them and stare. Or are zoos the key to save our species in an ever growing human population. Rachel Lu, a philosophy teacher and senior columnist, writes the article, “Let’s Keep Zoos: Learning stewardship is a good thing.”, published April 18, 2014, argues that zoos are worth keeping. Rachel Lu uses her personal experiences to appeal to her audience that zoos are valuable to people especially young children because it gives them a perspective on nature.
Since the recent event with a gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo, people have questioned ethics. The author wrote this argument to explain why the safety of animals, as well as their survival in the future, depends on these enclosures. Some readers would accept that zoos and aquariums conduct a lot of research, but for those who are skeptical, the argument discusses that the “Zoological Society of London, for instance, is developing innovative methods to assess the risks of animals contracting disease when they are reintroduced into the wild” (2016, p. 2, para. 7). The effective evidence Ganzert brings in shows readers the benefits of zoos and aquariums in order to appeal to the value of the animals being well contained and protected while they are in the enclosures. Another strong example of Ganzert’s appeal to an audience that wants the facts is “The Phoenix Zoo helped lead the ensuing breeding and reintroduction programs, which ultimately birthed more than 200 calves from just nine individuals. Now between Oman and Jordan, there are about 1,000 Arabian Oryx living in the wild” (2016, p. 2, para. 4). In result, the audience receives information about an existing program as well as what has happened due to the creation of this program at the Phoenix Zoo.
Considering the many challenges animals face in the wild, it is understandable that people may be eager to support zoos and may feel that they are protective facilities necessary for animal life. In the article “ Zoos Are Not Prisons. They Improve the Lives of Animals”, Author Robin Ganzert argues that Zoos are ethical institutions that enrich the lives of animals and ultimately protect them. Statistics have shown that animals held in captivity have limited utilitarian function resulting in cramped quarters, poor diets, depression, and early death for the animals thus, proving that Zoos are not ethical institutions that support and better the lives of animals as author Robin Ganzert stated (Cokal 491). Ganzert exposes the false premise in stating
The entertainment value does not contradict the morals of taking a wild animal and caging it, so we can stare at it for a few minutes. I will be honest, I love being able to take my kids to the zoo and aquarium. We enjoy walking around looking at all the exotic animals that cannot be seen while walking around the local park. The animal’s personalities and temperaments we see at the zoos is hardly the animal they would be in the wild. The visual education we are receiving is altered and therefore, false. Imagine you are put in a room very similar to your own, with your best friend or spouse, and you were told to behave ‘normally’. You can dance, laugh, talk, play, anything, but you will be watched by an estimated 5,000 people a day. No one would see the true you; the same goes for wild animals. We are able to have a better understanding of animals in their natural habitat rather than a miniature version filled with artificial objects in the local zoo or aquari...
The first point of view from this issue is the side that believes humans, zoos and other facilities should be allowed to keep animals. The places that captivate animals believe that they are doing a favor to the creatures. They believe that they are saving them from being killed by humans. They say that if they would not have taken in these animals they would have died in the wild. They say they’re giving them a fresh new start and a place to live without worry. For example, in this article they state that zoos try and h...
Ever since the dawn of human civilization, people have enclosed animals for their own personal enjoyment. In modern times, animals are now kept in zoos and aquariums not just for entertainment, but also for preventing the extinction of a diversity of species. For the past few decades, animal rights activists have been disputing whether or not if these captive areas have been benefiting the animals or if they are just depriving them from their natural rights. Even though supporters of zoos and aquariums argue that these isolated environments improve animals’ lives; the emotional state, habitat, and nutrition change drastically causing problems for the captive animals.
Animal cruelty is the abuse or failure to care for an animal. Before the past couple of years, people did not have to worry about how the animals in zoos were treated. For centuries, families have gone to zoos to be educated on the different species of animals. As years have gone by, zoos have become a trending topic of animal cruelty. While zoos do not physically abuse the animals, they have been known to not properly care for them. “According to the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), there are over 10,000 zoos worldwide” (Fravel 2). Of these 10,000 zoos, only some of them actually care about their animals. Caring for wild animals is extremely hard because zoos have to recreate the animals’ natural habitat. Zoos believe that they are protecting the animals’, yet; they tend to forget how it affects the animals. In reality, the animals are depressed and bored. These wild animals are being taken out of their natural habitats and are enclosed in small cages and habitats. Wild animals should live in their natural habitats, the wild, not in a zoo for the entertainment of zoo visitors. Therefore, banning zoos will end the horrible cycle of animal cruelty.
When bred in captivity, animals are oblivious to their natural habitats and how to socially interact with their species. The article “Animals Used as Entertainment” lists rodeos, circuses, bullfighting, horse racing, cockfighting, dog fighting, and zoos as examples of the many ways animals are used in entertainment. Circuses and zoos are the two most relevant forms of animal mistreatment. Both of these are sources of entertainment for children and adults. Zoos declare that they are used for mostly educational purposes and preserving various species, but the reality is that they fall short on both (“Animals Used”).
Since approximately 1250 B.C., ancient Egyptians had created and practiced the capture and display of animals in what are now known as zoos (Fravel). Records describe such exotic animals as birds, lions, giraffes, and tigers in captivity (Fravel). Since then, zoos have continued to entertain millions with the exciting chance to view exotic animals up close and personal. Even in ancient Greece, exotic animals were on display in fighting arenas, and in enclosed viewing areas. Originally in America, zoos were just created so that royalty and the wealthy could flaunt their exotic animals to the public (Leolupus). Today, with species threatened and habitats disappearing worldwide, zoos are serving a new purpose other than the mere exhibition of animals – conservation. (Fravel). When you think of a zoo, you either think of a fun, entertaining place that provides close-up and exciting exhibits of wild animals that you would otherwise never get the chance to see, or a place where people keep suffering, unhappy animals captive just for entertainment and display. However, despite whichever view you hold, and despite the stereotypes, some zoos have evolved to serve alternative and helpful purposes. Although some zoos face controversy due to allegations such as lack of space and quality care, neglect, and cruelty, some zoos have programs specifically designed to help and protect animal species. For example, these zoos have programs that help such conservation efforts as breeding.
Animals should not be held captive in zoos because it is inhumane and unfair to the animals. There are so many records of terrible things that have happened to animals in zoos over the past few centuries, the go under the radar too often. Too few people even know about these animal care atrocities, and therefore the New York Times decided to bring light upon this situation. The Times did a first-of-its-kind analysis of 390 elephant fatalities at accredited U.S. zoos over the past 50 years (Berens 3). It found that most of the elephants died from injury or disease linked to conditions of their captivity, from chronic foot problems caused by standing on hard surfaces to musculoskeletal disorders from inactivity caused by being penned or chained for days and weeks at a time.
Every year, accredited sanctuaries have to turn away hundreds of exotic and wild animals made homeless by circuses, roadside zoos, and the “pet” trade. While a few zoos, such as the Detroit Zoo and California’s Oakland Zoo, have made the compassionate decision to provide animals who are truly in need with refuge, most zoos reject these animals. The zoo industry must transform itself from a prison to a refuge, where the rights and welfare of individual animals are given the highest priority. Let your local zoo know that the public will support such change by urging it to stop all breeding in order to offer greater space to fewer animals and to make room for wild animals who are confiscated from backyard cages, basements, circuses, and roadside
Lions roar in the ears of the bystanders while people are taking pictures with monkeys. Zookeepers sell bread to give to the ducks in the pond. This scene is typical in zoos around the world. Globally, zoos are meant to provide entertainment as they have been around for centuries, and there are more than ten thousand zoos around the world that house animals in captivity (“Animals Suffer” 12). Time after time they have been proven to provide the public with tantalizing spectacles, like how zookeepers teach seals to do simple tricks and host dolphin shows.
The outdated practice of using zoos to display wild animals needs to end because of the unnecessary stress on the animals, the lack of educational benefit these institutions provide, and the
There are some incidents where lions in a zoo were kept in cramped for 18 hours a day, elephants were being trained with 4,500 electrode volt groads, animals were being disposed in the trash cans. Lions spent 48 percent of the time pacing around. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to interfere with animals and keep them locked up in captivity, where they are bored, cramped, lonely, deprived of all control over their lives, and far from their natural homes. At the Virginia Zoo, 10 prairie dogs died when their tunnel collapsed, a rhinoceros drowned in the moat of her exhibit, and a zebra narrowly escaped death after jumping into the lion exhibit, while another lost her life when she bolted from a holding pen, struck a fence, and broke her neck.