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Controversy of zoos
Ethical treatment of animals
Controversy of zoos
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Wallace-Wells' article "The Case for the End of the Modern Zoo", addresses whether there is a valid reason for zoos to exist.The author begins by explicitly stating that he is a huge fan of zoos, and visits them frequently with his young daughter. He states that the zoo he visits takes extra precautions to protect the well being of the animals, such as reducing visitation hours and attempting to replicate natural habitats. In addition, the author calls to attention recent studies that suggest animals suffer in captivity (through malnutrition, infanticide, and frequent deaths).Wallace-Welles also emphasizes a recent "anti-zoo sentiment" stemming from pop culture such as "Madagascar", "Planet of the Apes", and "Blackfish". This "anti-zoo sentiment"
Have you ever seen an animal sitting in a cage all alone with nothing to do. Well, zoos are trying to change that fact. They will allow the animals to live in an environment that is like their home. Many people don't realize this, but zoo are keeping and breeding these animals because they would not survive in the wild alone. In the three passages, ¨The Stripes Will Survive,¨ ¨The Zood Go Wild from No More Dodos,¨ ¨Our Beautiful Macaws and Why They Need Enrichment.¨ All of these articles present one claim, that is that the role of zoos is no longer to keep animal, but to protect them.
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.
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
Stotts uses scholarly articles, newspaper articles and historical monographs to show the changing ideologies and perception of zoological parks in America. He addresses the reasons adults and children alike were attracted to these parks. Stotts addresses the appeal of the zoo to American families, which extends upon the social history of the United States. Furthermore he addresses how zoos came to become sanctuaries, preservers and protectors of America’s wildlife for future generations.
In Michael Pollan’s “An Animal’s Place,” he wavers between the idea of if it is right to eat animals. Pollan first begins to think about the issue after reading “Animal Liberation” by Peter Singer. In this narrative, Singer argues why it is wrong to eat animals. Singer states that animals deserve rights because they are able to suffer just like humans. While Pollan reads it, he tries to understand Singer’s views and counteract his arguments. Throughout Pollan’s work, he appears to not make a definite stance on the issue until later on in the text. Towards the end of the text, he provides evidence based on evolution to show it is ethical to eat animals. Pollan believes it is ethical to consume animals and animal products due to the concept of
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.
The difference between right and wrong is not always perfectly clear. A long-standing part of cultures across the world, zoological and animal parks have been around for hundreds of years. While in the past concerns and issues regarding the ethical problems zoos seem to impose were less prominent, in recent times the rise of animal rights activist groups and new generational values have influenced the way people view these parks. Critics believe that zoos are an unnatural habitat for animals and force them to live in captivity, having a negative impact on their health. Yet, there are still many who fully support zoos, citing business and educational reasons.
There are many places where people can go to see live animals such as aquariums, zoos, and safari parks. A pleasant way to define a Zoo is to call it “an establishment that maintains a collection of wild animals”. (Google def) Another way to say that is a facility in which animals are “enclosed in cages for public exhibition”. I believe zoos are ethical; however, changes need to be made to eliminate problems I have discovered. In this argumentative essay, I will be arguing the ethics of zoos and certain problems that need to be addressed that people are not aware of. Zoos are great places to take the family out for the day to have entertainment; however, problems such as captive breeding, length of life, and animal stress need to improve.
There is a Holocaust theme in The Zookeeper's wife, which was directed by Niki Caro and written by Angela Workman. Antonina Zabinski (Jessica Chastain), Jan Zabinski's (Johan Heldenbergh), the zookeeper’s, wife helps care for their zoo and her family. The zoo brings the whole family and town together, and everyone is happy while being entertained by the animals. Shortly after, they are to find out that their world is going to be turned upside-down when the German military storm into their cozy lives and Polish town. Antonina's faith to her husband will also get tried by the German leader of the group, Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl), which leads herself to be put in some rather risqué situations. She and her family obligate themselves to hide their Jewish friends and
In my introduction I will go over my three main points I wish to discuss whether animals should be kept in captivity for we all at some point in our lives we all have felt that what zoo’s do leave negative impacts on animals there are also positives. One of the key facts shows that negatives have outweighed the positives. The three reasons I wish to express to you and support towards my question today through a perspective against the matter include the fact that animals are often striped of their natural behaviours when coexisting together in their natural habitats compared to living in a cage or reserve. It’s said that they often become stressed and bored for they are often forced against their will to live in these centres after being randomly in their eyes stolen from the previous way of life. My final point says that most animals are never returned to their habitat for many of them are either sold or bargained for extra profit to provide for the zoo’s personal requirements.
Capturing animals is cruel and destroys their chances of surviving for as long as they should. Zoos all over the United States have had instances of animal cruelty. At the Scarborough Sea Life Center, Humboldt penguins suffer from depression and are forced to take antidepressants. “Apecsecadmin.” Apecsec.org, 20 May 2015, apecsec.org/pros-and-cons-of-animals-in-zoos/. Do Zoos Do More Harm Than Good? Here are the Pros and Cons.”
Zoos display fascinating animals from all over the world for human entertainment, research, conservation, and education. Many scientists conduct studies on animals in captivity that they may not have been able to in the wild. Zoos educate all the visitors that come; they let people know everything that they know about the animals on display. We do learn a lot from these animals, but not all of the animals in the zoo are behaving like they normally would in the wild. Larger animals, such as elephants and orcas (commonly known as killer whales), have trouble with being confined in such a small area. However, many smaller animals benefit from zoos because they provide protection from predators, natural disasters, and poachers. They also benefit from conservation efforts; the babies being born get all the care they could ever need. Some animal rights activists are concerned that the conservation efforts are limiting the gene pool of the species. They argue that the small number of animals able to breed in captivity limits biodiversity and leads to weaknesses in the species overall. Zoos are wonderful places to study and learn about animals, but we need to improve the living standards for animals that struggle with captivity.
In a crowded city such as Manhattan, it was no wonder that a man like Jerry felt lonely. He was without a friend, a mother and father, and the typical 'wife, two children, and a dog,'; that many others had. Jerry was thrown in a world that he felt did not want him, and his human flaw of wanting to escape loneliness led to his tragic death. In Edward Albee's play, The Zoo Story, all Jerry wanted was to be heard and understood, and in the end, after sharing his life story with a complete stranger, he got his final wish - death. The Zoo Story not only tells of the alienation of man in modern society, but also reflects the philosophy of twentieth century existentialism.
It’s often thought that the captivity of animals is for “educational purposes” or for “conservation of endangered species”, but in my opinion these words of fiction are really to conceal the fact that these animals are being mistreated and mishandled for financial gain. Confining animals to cramped conditions in unnatural habitats, with the constant violation of privacy from the public and their loss of freedom makes zoos the worst, so called, home for animals. Zoos provide unnatural habitats. For these confined creatures its near impossible to replicate the environment wild animals experience. This is due to the limited space each animal gets provided, this leaves the captive animals feeling imprisoned and uncomfortable rather than feeling
Supporters of zoos argue that they help to conserve endangered species, but in fact they are not very good at this. Even the world famous panda-breeding programme has been very costly and unsuccessful. Also, zoo life does not prepare animals for the challenges of life in the wild. For example, two rare lynxes released into the wild in Colorado died from starvation even though the area was full of hares, which are a lynx’s natural prey.