Since the time of the early cave paintings, humans have been fascinated by the animals around them. Humans flock to zoos in order to see the animals that are not near them, enjoying themselves as they observe the encaged, often out-of-place animals. To most humans, these animals are merely objects. In this way, the human fascination for zoo animals is limited to how entertaining and exotic the animal is; thus, there is no interest in the wellbeing of the viewed animal. It is without doubt that a great portion of the zoo animal population is grossly mistreated, examples of which will be given within the essay. This cruelty toward zoo creatures is largely ignored, due to the human indifference. Humans see the mistreatment and choose to ignore …show more content…
This problem stems from the incredibly small populations found in zoos. Marius the Giraffe is a tragic victim of the genetic issue. A sprightly two year old giraffe, Marius seemed by all accounts a relatively happy animal; however, on February 9th, 2014, he was culled by a veterinarian at the Danish Copenhagen Zoo. After being shot in the head , Marius was dissected in a public space while zookeepers gave a detailed explanation of the process. When asked why the killing of Marius happened, the scientific director at the Danish Copenhagen Zoo, Bengt Holst, gave a number of answers. Holst stated that although the giraffe was healthy, its genetic makeup was too similar to other giraffes in the zoo. Although multiple other zoos and wildlife parks – including the prestigious Yorkshire Wildlife Park – offered to take Marius in, Holst stood fast to his belief that the giraffe was not genetically …show more content…
Outside of Marius’s death, thousands of other animals have been culled for similar reasons, including four hippos, twenty-two zebras, three tiger cubs, four other giraffes, and dozens of Arabian Oryx (who were noted in ZSL’s list of species ‘saved’ by zoos) . The organization residing over 340 European zoos has stepped forward after the euthanization of Marius to defend the zoo’s decision to cull animals. The executive director of EAZA, Lesley Dickie, told BBC that “…somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 animals are ‘management-euthanized’ in European zoos in any given year.” There are another 300 zoos in Europe not belonging to EAZA , so the number of animals culled each year could easily be double what Dickie proposed. How can zoos possibly still claim to conserve species and yet kill so many of their animals when other more humane options lay at their feet? According to Dickie, "Conservation is not always simple. It's not always clean." That statement alone seems to summarize the EAZA’s stance on euthanizing zoo
Analysis of Argument for Ethical Zoos and How They Benefit Animals Due to the recent events in the Cincinnati Zoo, arguments have been sparked about the ethics of zoos. Most articles try to argue against zoos and closed environments, but there are those that still support zoos and the programs that they provide for endangered species. The argument “Zoos Are Not Prisons”? They Improve the Lives of Animals” focuses on the positives of animal enclosures and fights for support to keep zoos in business. The author, Dr. Robin Ganzert, ties examples of programs that zoos help create and what type of research is conducted in the zoos, to support his claims.
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 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...
...re not met. Animals are living beings that deserve rights and respect, and being kept in a zoo does not meet these standards. People need to realize that animals are worthy of some of the privileges we receive. Endangered species can ultimately be saved by us, if we support their natural habitats and fight the people who kill them. “Significantly, we object to human captivity for one reason only, that humans have a right to freedom, or just ought to be free. Why shouldn’t this be the case with non-humans too?” (Bostock). Zoos should not be supported because they are violating animal rights.
“Animal Entertainment” refers to any animals used to act, perform, or fight for the enjoyment of humans. zoos, circuses, and bullfighting are all examples of animals used for entertainment. While many applaud these firms for putting on a spectacular show, many others argue that the animals are treated unfair. All of these animals are taken out of their natural environment and forced to perform acts not typically in their behavioral range. If one pays close attention at the circus, for example, it is visible how these animals are treated. Trainers threaten tigers with a whip and often hit elephants with metal on their legs. These techniques are inhumane and best explain why animals should not be used for entertainment. The use of animals for entertainment is a form of animal abuse because of the way the
The debate on storing animals in zoos became controversial, and I came to the final decision that animals do not deserve to live in zoos. Animals are meant to live in their natural habitat, just as humans thrive in their naturally industrialized environment. Living in captivity can also cause the animal’s lifespan to decrease, and it may be due to the failure to satisfy their emotional needs. Human interaction to wildlife and its animals is every expanding, and this probably makes manmade disasters the main cause of the transaction of wild animals from the wild to zoos. On the other hand, zoos have the potential to raise awareness and the support from public donations to fund animal conservation projects, but people do not need to physically see an animal provide their support. Since there are many solutions to this debate, there is no direct answer. From a wild animal’s point of view, humans may be seen as immoral beings with countless evil intentions. What they do not realize is that we have the potential to do good and make big, positive
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.
Animals not only experience cruelty from their caretakers, but from visitors as well. As a result of this, the abuse can cause psychological damage and varies from the animals being teased, yelled at and having objects thrown at them (OccupyTheory, 2015, List of Cons of Zoos, para. 4). Animals that are restricted to zoo living arrangements show a great deal of abnormal behaviors as well as mental health issues. For example, animals in captivity easily become lonely and bored when deprived of their natural necessities. Due to stressful living situations, many animals begin to show signs of a psychological condition known as zoochosis, a repetitive and multiple obsessive behavior (Netivist 2016, Cons of Zoos, para. 2). Some symptoms of repetitive and obsessive behaviors that have are common include, but not limited to self-mutilation, pacing up and down or rocking back and forth (Isacat, 2015, Chapter.8). According to the database on the animal advocacy organization, Born Free USA website (http://www.bornfreeusa.org/reports/exoincidents.php) there is over 1300 recorded incidents of "deadly and dangerous captive wild animal incidents" that have occurred since 1990 (ResearchBuzz, 2010). One of the most recent incidents involved Harambe, a western lowland gorilla that lived in the Cincinnati Zoo. Animal psychological and former head of Zoo Atlanta, Terry Maple stated, "Its difficult to say whether
In the film, Madagascar, zoos are depicted as a sanctuary in which all the exotic animals are kept safe and are open for the public to view. But many would argue that zoos are inhumane, the charging of animals for our personal entertainment is unjustifiable. Those who believe that zoos are wrong and should be destroyed are animal rights activists; they believe that animals should be allowed to choose their own destiny. Those that believe that zoos are an important part of our lives are scientists and zoologists. This debate has gone on for generations and average folk are stuck in the middle, not knowing which side to stand on.
It’s always fun to go with your friends and family to see cute and exotic animals when you go to the zoo, right? You may think that they have the best life having people to give them things that want and to protect them, but some of them are actually suffering just for our amusement from being in that small enclosure all day and all night. Animals should not be put in zoos because they can develop many mental and physical health problems due to the absence of some natural necessities and they are not always treated as nice as you think.
Mason, Robert A. B. "Wild Mammals In Captivity: Principles And Techniques For Zoo Management, 2Nd Edition." Austral Ecology38.8 (2013): e26. Environment Index. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Picture this- you live the first few years of your life happy with your family. You live in a nice house, your family is healthy, and you have a nice community of people around you. Then, out of nowhere, you are captured. You are scared- you do not know where you are, where you are going, or where your family is. After what seems like an eternity, you wake up in a small, dirty cage. The cage is just big enough for you to stand and walk eight paces. The cage is littered with trash and is just terrible smelling. You are alone, with nothing to do all day except for sit or sleep. You are hungry too; you have not been fed in a day or two. The only thing left to eat is the trash that bystanders throw into your cage. Obviously, this does not happen to humans in this time in America. But it is, however, happening to thousands of animals in Indonesia’s largest zoo. Animals are captured and are forced to live in the zoo’s harsh conditions, where they are overcrowded, underfed, and neglected. The Surabaya Zoo of Indonesia is a horrendous zoo with terrible conditions, and should be closed down due to the mistreatment of the zoo’s animals.
Even though some zoos have an endangered species exhibit with the intention of protecting and rehabilitating animals, many do not do an adequate job of protecting the animals. Zoos have been harmful to the very animals they have sworn to protect. Animals in captivity often suffer from anxiety, boredom and other severe issue related to prolonged confinement. Most animals are unable to thrive in small enclosure with unnatural weather and climates. For example elephants are known to walk as far as 30 miles per day, but the association of Zoos and aquariums only require a space the measures $0 feet by 45 feet, which is about the size of a three car garage, to house these large animals. (peta.org) the drastic difference in the amount of space their allowed ...
Most people think that zoos protect animals, but it can clearly be seen in the records provided by the Times that the zoos are doing the exact opposite of protecting animals. The American zoos, including the accredited ones, have led to the near demise of elephants. As if that alone isn’t enough to prove that zoos are cruel and unfair, there are many professionals and experts who gravely look down upon zoos too. Delcianna Winders, director with the PETA foundation, said “Renowned oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau reported that...
Zoos are an unsuitable environment for wild animals and should, therefore, be abolished. Firstly, zoo animals are kept in a very confined area compared with their vast natural habitat. Secondly, breeding programmes are far less successful than zoos claim. Thirdly, zoo animals are exposed to many diseases and other dangers.