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There should be laws against zoos
Animal cruelty in zoos essay
Animals being kept in zoos
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Torture. Death. Education. Entertainment. How could these words all possibly be related? Well, a modern zoo is all of these things. Zoos are horrible and cruel. They are a business; not a wildlife sanctuary. Animals are treated poorly, they are in unnatural environments, and their mental and physical health is suffering. Zoos must be banned!
Firstly, in England, there have been numerous reports of the cruelty of animals. 2010 Woburn Safari Park, where it was discovered that lions were squashed into small enclosures for 18 hours a day, and staff were found training elephants using 4,500-volt electrical sticks. Also in Knowsley Safari Park, where in 2011, photos showed animals being binned after untrained staff shot them. There also have been multiple reports around the world where animals were being trained with sharp sticks and beaten; but the world’s leading zoo organisation, W.A.Z.A (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums) has yet to prosecute any of the zoo's involved.
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Elephants walk up to almost 50 km a day; bears are active for up to 18 hours a day walking for hundreds of km; lions and tigers roam around and explore. But instead, animals are crammed in small enclosures and have no privacy whatsoever; they are just displayed for public entertainment. Lion and tigers have 18,000 times less space in their enclosures than in the wild, and polar bears have 1 million times less space than in the wild. It doesn’t matter how much space animals get it will never compare where they were supposed to live. Imagine if we were confined to a small closet with little space to move where there is a glass window displaying your every move to the public. This is what it is like for animals in
Lets start with zoos, where animals are kept in cages or large enclosures for public viewing. Millions of people visit zoos thinking the animals are happy, when in all reality they are miserable. You can try to replicate the animals enclosure to their natural habitat, but they can never replace their homes. An animals rights organization states, “Animals are often prevented from doing most of the things that are natural and important to them, like running, roaming, flying, climbing, foraging, choosing a partner, and being with others of their own kind,” (PETA). Although, zoos are said to ‘help’ these animals, they really are not, it is more a collection of different animals in order to show off to the audience and gain money off of them. People begin to believe it is okay to keep these wild animals captive and have their lives be controlled by someone else.
Zoos have been with us throughout our history, and can provide a good barometer of public beliefs and values at any given time. Therefore it seems necessary to explore whether in today’s society contemporary zoos are a means of educating and conserving or still seek to control and exhibit animal others for human benefit. In order to make this assessment there are a number of contributing factors. Firstly it is important to establish context by considering the history of zoos and looking at the changes from the early menageries to contemporary zoos who strive to be institutions of refuge for animals facing twenty-first century global challenges. This links into how the physical space of zoos has changed over time and whether these advancements have made any crucial difference to the welfare of animals. Following this conservation, education and scientific research will be explored in detail in order to assess whether they provide good enough motives for keeping animals in captivity. I will seek to argue that although attempts have been made to point zoos in the direction of conservation and education, in my opinion the concepts of dominance and human superiority are still at the core of modern zoos.
Zoo captivity is substandard and inadequate for animals. Zoo animals are deprived of their right as animals they are treated unjustly and unfairly. Animals should not be forced to kept in a cage away from their natural environment and be used as a form of entertainment to humans. The animals also suffer from stress and are driven insane by being trapped behind bars. The zoo is supposed to provide safety to these endangered animals but instead, these zoo animals are put at risk towards a variety of dangers such as vulnerability to diseases and starvation.
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.
In fact, zoos take all necessary precautions to make sure that the animals and the attendees are all safe in the captivity of the zoo. As a matter of fact, trainers always have experience in the field that they will be working in so that no one, including themselves, gets hurt. The enclosures are very well protected and sealed to make sure that no animals escape and no humans get inside to be hurt by the animals or to hurt the animal. Of course, there are also security cameras to make sure that all humans are safe where they are and no one in the near future will be hurt. In addition,
“There can be many reason for animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, or under control of others. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts what they have seen or that have been done to them, others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against--or threaten-- someone who cares about that animal”. (“Animal… Statistics”) Concerns towards abusing animals have gone up in the past. Although there are not many cases on animal abuse, many have occurred. Abusers are charged with Criminal Animal Abuse and then sentenced to life in prison. Some animals that are physically abused are sometimes rescued by Animal Control, and are taken it to an animal shelter. However, many shelters have not had the space to keep the animals so the workers would have to put them down (Carol Roach). Researchers have shown that the main animals getting abused are dogs, chickens, horses, and livestock (“Animal...
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.
Zoos are very inhumane, because the animals are put to their misery inside of their cages Lions and tigers have around 18,000 times less space in a zoo and Polar bears have one million times less space when living in a zoo.
Imagine being caged up all day for the rest of your life. It would be a nightmare. You would have people staring at you all day. It would be like watching a movie 1000 times. We should get rid of zoos because they only have a certain area to do things in and they don't have the same environment as the wild.
Zoo’s enclosures and parks have been around for quite a while now, and it is the duty of the public to go to these parks to explore a new world and experience the “true” animals. People are attracted to new experiences and to learn about exotic animals and see them in their “natural” habitat, or so owners try to present zoos to the public in that way. The seller ideas to get the public to continue to go to the zoos is gaining new exotic animals that you wouldn’t normally see around your house or near civilization. As stated by DeLuca and Slawter-Volkening, zoos are used to “bringing a taste of wilderness” to its public (3), trying to give a false reality of the wilderness. Later in the same article, they stated that “fundamentally zoos exist to amuse people…..animals are reduced to actors in the play/world created by humans for humans” (DeLuca and Slawter-Volkening 4). This statement shows that humans do in fact enjoy the “fake” over the real, and that animals are only objects or toys used to amuse the people.
Let’s take a look at Pitiful Prisons (Zoos) for instance. Despite their professional concern for animals, zoos could more accurately be described as a "collection" of animals rather than actual safe havens or homes. Zoos claim to be educational, but visitors spend maybe a few minutes at each display searching for entertainment more than enlightenment; it doesn't matter what’s on display, the people look at it as if it is wallpaper. Even taking consideration of the best conditions at the best of zoos, the fake ecosystems couldn't even begin to replace wild animals’ habitat.... ...
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 ...
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 he was forever changed after witnessing a captive dolphin commit suicide by ramming his head into a tank wall.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The world of entertainment is constantly growing and changing in exciting ways. As a society, we have found pleasure in watching exotic, and wild animals by visiting zoos, circuses, and aquariums. When visiting these places, we are not focused on the mistreatment of animals as the corporation often disguises it. The harsh truth, is that these beautiful animals are neglected, abused and live a life of misery. An animal used for entertainment purposes is a horrible social norm, which has been proven to cause psychological and physical damage.
Polar bears, for example, are given about 10 metres of walking space, whereas in their Arctic home they roam for many hundreds of kilometres. Similarly, primates, big cats and birds are often confined to cages where they lack exercise and stimulation. Many animals develop unnatural habits, such as pacing back and forth or swaying from side to side. 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.