Effects Of Zoos On Animals

All around the world, zoos and circuses are merely entertaining places to visit animals doing what they would in the wild or performing mind blowing tricks. Although zoos are said to be a learning environment and circuses just a harmless show, these environments are some of the most threatening to wild animals. What these people do not see are the horrors that happen behind the curtains or behind closed doors. These people do not witness the constant brutality or the constant neglect that animals in zoos and circuses experience almost every day. *Due to abusive environments and lack of resources critical to their development, wild animals should not be used for entertainment purposes.

Although zoos have portrayed an image which suggests they

provide the utmost care for their animals, this is not the case. Some animals are even taken directly from their natural habitat to be put on display in a zoo. According to the Captive Animals’ Protection Society, “70% of elephants in zoos are taken from the wild” (“10 facts about zoos” p.1). In the article “China’s Booming Ocean Parks Mean Misery for Animals”, the author states that as animals are taken from their natural habitat, they become stressed due to their lack of knowledge with their new environment. This also causes an imbalance in the ecosystem because as more elephants are taken from the wild, the more elephants are closer to extinction. Another incident where animals were taken in the wild is when the government of the United Kingdom allowed for 146 penguins to be captured (2). This is an outrageous number of animals being taken from their natural habitat, where it is best they stay. Although some zoos try their best to mimic the
natural habitat of their animals, this is not the case most of the time. Zoos in general lack the correct amount of resources animals need to grow the way they would in their natural habitat, despite their best efforts. Zoos cram animals in spaces with the size that does not even come close to the unlimited space they have in the wild. Data recorded by the Captive Animals’ Protection Society states that “Tigers and lions have around 18,000 times less space in zoos than they would in the wild. Polar bears have one million times less space” (1). Larger animals like those begin to develop stereotypic behaviors, such as pacing back in forth in their enclosure. The amount of space that those animals are given in zoos is not sufficient considering how much they need to move for growth. In some cases, zoos are abusive towards their animals as well as neglectful. Animals are complex creatures that require a certain amount of care and nutrition in zoos to grow mimicking that of the wild.. Animals are often found neglected and deprived of the care they need. In his article, “Roadside Dens of Grim Captivity” (2015), Justin Jouvenal evaluates the way that certain zoos in America care for their animals. Jouvenal develops his argument by using logos in order to appeal to the logic of the readers. His purpose is to expose certain zoos for neglect, deprivation, abuse, and corruption. According to Jouvenal “...more than 80 animals have died, been injured or become ill because of neglect at zoos, and more than 200 others were kept in inhumane conditions...” (1). It was found that in the Natural Bridge zoo, a large amount of animals were in need of veterinary care, but did not receive any attention. One Wallaby, for example, was drowned after the owner of the facility told his employee to have it euthanized. This corruption, however, could be partly due to the lack of government interaction with zoos. There are some companies, such as the United States Department of Agriculture, which have put forth an effort to ensure that zoos and other industries are providing sufficient care for their animals. Within their company there are only 97 inspectors for every 7,500 facilities throughout America (2). Despite the continuous effort from certain zoos, zoos just do not have the capability to care for wild animals.
Circuses are often viewed as a place to go where exotic animals perform intricate and impressive tricks.

What people do not know is that the animals in circuses are more than often abused to force them into learning these tricks as well as deprived of essentials while on the road. In both zoos and in circuses, animals are taken from the wild. The abduction of animals from the wild to be used in circuses has the same effect on the animals and the ecosystem; it pushes that species closer to extinction. If wild animals are not taken directly from the wild, they are bought from circuses. Regardless from where they are taken, this causes animals to stress due to unfamiliarity, such as discomfort. According to the Performing Animals Welfare Society, animals do not have access to any of their basic necessities such as food and water (1). Even if the animals are being fed and have access to water, it is in moderation These animals also do not have the ability to walk around as they would in zoos. They are constantly confined in boxcars, often in extreme temperatures. One incident recorded by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stated that “... a young lion traveling with Ringling, died in a poorly ventilated boxcar while the circus was crossing the Mojave Desert, where the temperatures reaches at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit” (“Circuses” 1). Sometimes, there are more than one animal confined to one boxcar. This limits the space the animals have even more, as well as confining two naturally aggressive animals together. Often times, predators in prey are placed in the same vicinity, which also causes tension and stress between the animals. Along with the constant confinement and the restriction to necessities, animals in the circus are treated awfully. To train the animals, extremely abusive tactics are used, not positive reinforcement. According to the Last Chance for Animals foundation (LCA), “Animals in the circus are routinely whipped, beaten with

long metal rods, shocked with electric prods, and struck with clubs” (“Circuses” 1). This quote shows exactly the kind of horrific weapons that are used on animals in circuses. This kind of torture has the ability to hinder the natural development of these animals as well as cause psychological damage. Aside from the torture, these animals are also forced to travel long distances without more movement than stepping from side to side. While traveling, some animals are chained for up to 23 hours at a time. Between the deprivation of basic necessities, the torture, and the confinement, circuses are even worse than zoos can be.
Despite sufficient reasoning as to why wild animals in captivity should not be used for entertainment purposes, some people believe that it is harmless to use animals in the entertainment industries. Opposing forces argue that zoos have the ability to educate the public about wild animals as well as provide contact with animals that they may never be able to see otherwise. On account of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, for example, zoos and aquariums are able to connect people with these wild animals as well as provide awareness to conserve their natural habitat. For instance, “AZA accredited zoos and aquariums play a vital role in educating over 175 million visitors, and 12 million students in the classroom or field, about wild animals, their habitats…” (“Education” 1). Due to the zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, that many more people have been able to gain knowledge about exotic animals as well as gain the ability to educate others on that topic. In The Wild, Wild World of Animals, Don Earnest also elaborates on the amount of education that the public is able to receive from zoos. Earnest states that because of zoos, scientists have been able to acquire more data regarding the world's fauna due to zoo’s accessibility to more wild animals (19). There are also people who believe that the tricks that animals in zoos perform are not physically uncomfortable or demanding whatsoever. In the film “Tyke Elephant Outlaw”, a man claimed that the actions that elephants perform during their are positions that they are not physically exhausting at all; elephants are able to stand up on their hind legs during sexual intercourse, while trying to grab something out of a tree or they can bend their knees when they are trying to stand up after lying on the ground. These people definitely evoke the educational side of zoos and the harmlessness of circuses.
Although zoos do claim to educate their visitors, that is often times not the case. Most of the time when people visit zoos, they merely walk by the enclosures only looking at the animal; they do not spend time thoroughly reading the description of the animal that is provided. According to data recorded by Derrick Jensen and Karen Tweedy-Holmes, it was revealed that “’...spectators stood in front of the monkey enclosure for an average of 46 seconds, and spent 32 minutes in a pavilion containing a hundred cages” (Jensen and Tweedy-Holmes 44). This is outrageous due to the fact that it would be impossible for spectators to gain any sort of in-depth knowledge about whatever species they are visiting. Despite zoos making an effort to display information, often times spectators do not care enough to read about what they are visiting. Another side to the educational value that zoos claim to obtain is their false sense of providing a habitat for their animals. It is hard for students or visitors to learn about this animal and the way it would act in its environment when the enclosure they live in is not the least bit as realistic as their natural habitat. It is obviously difficult to create an environment close to exactly how it would be in the wild, but most times people are learning that an animal’s environment is a cement flooring or a soiled, shallow pool of water or that an animal’s natural behavior is pacing back and forth for minutes on end (44). In these cases, those zoos are not displaying their best effort. If anything, they are displaying the least amount of effort possible at ensuring that their visitors are gaining an adequate amount of education. As wild animals do not thrive in zoos, their growth is impeded even more so in the cruel environment in circuses. The claim that was made in the previous paragraph regarding elephants performing tricks in the circus is extremely. Elephants do not stand on their hind legs in nature as often as they do in shows, so the more they do it while performing the more wearing and tearing occurs on their joints. Elephants do sometimes use their knees to get up off of the ground, but they do not to it to the extremity that circuses require. All of the tricks that animals in circuses do cause stress in their joints as well as discomfort in other areas. Regardless of positive accusations made towards zoos and circuses, they will never be able to sustain wild animals as well as their natural habitat.
Furthermore, zoos and circuses lack the environment and the amount of resources that it takes for a wild animal to flourish as naturally as possible. Despite their minimal efforts, zoos are not able to mimic the natural habitat of wild animals enough to where they are able to grow as they would in the wild. Zoos have been able to function as a fountain of new information regarding the world’s animals, but now the animals should be able to serve their original purpose out in the wild. Circuses have not served any other purpose other than entertaining people around the world exploiting wild animals. Their environments are even worse than zoos due to the fact that they sometimes do not even provide the animals with basic necessities. People around the world have not been able to witness the horrors that occur in zoos and circuses, but due to recent discoveries made, people have the ability to become aware of how zoos and circuses treat their animals. It is critical that people participate in aiding in the lesser use of animals for entertainment purposes.