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Mistreating animals essay
Controversies about zoos
Zoos do more bad than good
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Animals have been mistreated, and uncared for, for centuries. Most zoos and circuses do not have the resources to care for animals properly, or they simply do not care at all. This is why the governmental Animal Welfare Act is not doing its job. Meanwhile the American Zoo and Aquarium Association has made a great test for zoos, employees, and animals. This is why zoos should become American Zoo and Aquarium Association accredited because it will make zoos more people and animal friendly and will stop mistreatment of animals. The Animal Welfare Act should adopt the standards of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s testing. Since small zoos and circuses are not accredited members of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, their grounds do not have to be as people and family friendly. Since the …show more content…
Yet saving the animals does not seem to happen. Yet some animals from larger zoos do not provide for their animals, like the story of Twiggs and Jeffrey, “... two giraffes born at the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey, were sold by the zoo to a broker who subsequently sold them to a traveling circus. The director... actually admitted to seeing the animals’ pitiful living conditions...”(Zoos). This shows that animals taken in to circuses and smaller zoos can still be mistreated and harmed. This is why American Zoo and Aquarium Association members do not sell animals to smaller zoos any more. “The standards have evolved over time... Many zoos won’t send animals to a facility that is accredited (by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association)” (Bracken), this statement proves that zoos that are accredited have learned not to trade to abusive smaller zoos and circuses. These zoos are allowed to be abusive because the Animal Welfare Act does very little to stop this
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.
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
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.
When people go on a trip to the zoo, it can be assumed that they do not think about much more than what they can see. Signals that make zoos unfair and sometimes unbearable for the captive animals are not visible to most spectators. This essay will explain how zoos are unjust and should not be supported. Animals should not be held captive due their negative behavioral changes, lack of natural habitat and the zoos failure to effectively preserve endangered species.
Furthermore, while zoos should conserve and encourage educational experiences within their parks, Allen points out it’s also important to take a compassionate approach in caring for each individual animal. As zoos focus more on education and conservation, they sometimes forget that animals are not alive in terms of population and individual welfare is important. Thus, it appears that Allen is taking a middle ground approach to the ongoing debate about zoos, because she is open to zoos, when they are compassionate, yet fully recognizes the downside of animal cruelty.
Well over 181 million people visit zoos and aquariums each year. However, there have been recent reports that reveals that not all zoos and aquariums are the same. For example, Sea World has been under fire for the past several years for unethical practices of capturing and keep their orca whales ever since documentaries like Blackfish (2013) had come out. Zoos have been called out for their unsuitable exhibits for their animals. Even our own Oregon Zoo has been exposed for using concrete grounds for the elephant exhibits which causes extreme pain for the elephants are they weigh so much, stand on the concrete for many hours, and even getting foot disease leading to an early death. The ethical question it raises is, it ethical to keep wild animals in zoos for human viewing pleasure the expense of the animals well being? People have been putting animals in zoos since the ancient Greek times to profit off of humans wanting to view exotic animals. While some zoos have ethical practices in regards to the treatment and acquiring
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.
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.
The topic of rather zoos are made to educate the people or if they are simply just animal cruelty. Zoos contain many animals. From, elephants, lions, tigers, dolphins, otters, giraffes, chimpanzees and gorillas. These animals are accustomed to living in their natural habitat which is with no cages and are free to roam as they please. Zoos are miserable places for animals, according to CAPS an undercover investigator filmed sick animals left untreated and dead animals to rot on floors at Tweedle Farm Zoo. Zoos are overcrowded and there was no provision for individual feeding or sleeping areas. Some lions exhibit skin wounds and multiple scars of various age, some fresh, some healed. Another reason why Zoos should be illegal is simply because zoos cannot provide the amount of space animals would have in the wild. Lions and Tigers have around 18,000 times less space in zoos than they would in the wild. Polar bears have one million times less space. (10 Facts About Zoos). 54% of elephants are showing stereotypies (behavioral problems) during the daytime. One elephant observed during day ...
“Allegory of the Cave” Literary Analysis We as humans tend to not understand the true reality of our world. We are bound to one perspective of our life and when someone or some idea challenges to change our perspective, we will ultimately neglect it and retain the same mindset. “Allegory of the Cave” is the 8th passage from the Socratic dialogue, “The Republic” written by Plato in 360 BC. This work has been translated and republished many times in the past decade. The passage contains three principal characters which happen to be prisoners shackled in chains in a cave as depicted through a conversation between Socrates and Glaucon.
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 ...
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.
The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Winders, Delcianna. Zoos: Misery Behind Bars. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 26 Aug. 2013 n.p.
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.