Persuasive Essay About Zoos

Zoos leave animals vulnerable to a variety of dangers from which they have no defense or opportunity to escape. Animals in zoos have been poisoned, left to starve, deprived of veterinary care, and burned alive in fires. Some have died after eating coins, plastic bags, and other items thrown into their cages. Still others have been killed or stolen by people who were able to gain access to their exhibits. During natural disasters, such as floods and wildfires, there may be no way to evacuate every animal to safety.

A bear starved to death at the Toledo Zoo after zoo officials locked her up to hibernate without food or water—not knowing that her species doesn’t hibernate. At the Niabi Zoo in Illinois, a 3-month-old lion cub was euthanized after his spinal cord was crushed by a falling exhibit door.

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