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The importance of zoos
Ethics of the roles of zoos
The consequences of zoos for animals
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Zoos Zoos are in a struggle of survival because they are very experience to maintain; every animal has special needs and zoos do not receive a large amount of money and are in lack of funds. They have helped many animals by sheltering them and helping them recreate their original habitat. Some zoo experts predict that zoos, as convinced today, could disappear someday (“Zoos Face the Challenges”). While some people see zoos negatively, zoos provide valuable resources for society because even though zoos are expensive to maintain they offer many programs to citizens, allow people to see animals in their natural environments, and protect endangered species. Zoos are ranked last on the list of priorities to our community because they are just considered a center of entertainment which is not really necessarily important. Expansion, remodeling, and maintenance cost is extremely expensive at a time when economy is faced with many problems that make …show more content…
Wildlife species are facing global extinction on a large scale about 21 percent of mammals, 12 percent of the bird species and 33 percent of all amphibian species are in danger of extinction (“Why Zoos Matter”). Zoos deal with this problems because they care for the lives of animals. Most responsible zoos emphasis the need for protection of natural habitat and public education of the people (“Zoo”). By providing this programs zoos hope to increase the amount of people who actually care for other then their own kind. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums focuses on preserving the life’s of endanger species by breeding the species and increasing the number of healthy offspring born to zoo animals (“What’s New at the Zoo?”). Some zoos even raise money to buy land for private nature
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.
Christopher McCandless’ long, fascinating, but an ultimately fatal journey into the wilderness of Alaska is depicted in the biography, Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer. Late in the of summer of 1990, a very young Christopher McCandless left his ordinary world in Annandale, Virginia to pursue a solitary life in the untamed wilds of Alaska. Many will insinuate that Christopher McCandless’ actions were childish and idiotic, but a stronger argument would be that his unconventional thinking and desire to live life on his own terms allowed him to reach self-actualization.
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.
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 remaining who fully support zoos, citing business and educational reasons. Some supporters even acknowledge the ethical problems zoos face, but choose
From childhood, most of us have fond memories of going to the zoo. We were entertained by the variety of animals that we were not able to see on a regular basis. Visitors of a zoo get to see exotic, and local animals of that area. Going to a zoo gives children and adults a chance to learn about different animals. Certain zoos also promote the conservation of endangered species. To people of all ages, zoos are just plain fun. This essay will support the operation of zoos based on their entertainment and educational value, and their ability to save some species from extinction.
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 massively valuable to education. Education is the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction. Zoos give instruction by teaching about animals and how to care for them as well. Zoos educate the public by showing them the different animals, how they act, how dangerous they are, and how to treat them according to the article “Education – Association of Zoos and Aquariums.” Zoos are an important part of education because without a public zoo some might not know how dangerous some animals are and get killed by them or even unknowingly kill an endangered species. Also without zoos the education on animals study would lack curiosity because of a poor presentation of examples. Children need to see to believe and without that aspect the education towards animals would suffer tremendously. A total of 175 million people have been educated because of zoos. They are educated about wild animals, their related conservation issues, their habitats, and the ways in which they can contribute to their preservation of these animals.
Zoos today say that one of their main goals is to conserve endangered species and eventually reintroduce them back into the wild. However, Benjamin Beck, former associate director of biological programs at the National Zoo in Washington, found that over the past century only 16 of 145 reintroduction programs worldwide ever actually restored any of the animals back to the wild (qtd. in Fravel). He also found that a majority was carried out by the government and not the actual programs themselves. Beck noted that the billions of dollars the zoos were receiving were going towards hi-tech exhibits and marketing strategies to get people to go to the zoos. So which zoos are actually attempting to save the lives they claim to be? According to David Hancocks, a former zoo director with 30 years’ experience, many zoos that are not affiliated with the AZA do not spend hardly any of their fu...
Since approximately 1250 B.C., ancient Egyptians had created and practiced the capture and display of animals in what are now known as zoos (Fravel). Records describe such exotic animals as birds, lions, giraffes, and tigers in captivity (Fravel). Since then, zoos have continued to entertain millions with the exciting chance to view exotic animals up close and personal. Even in ancient Greece, exotic animals were on display in fighting arenas, and in enclosed viewing areas. Originally in America, zoos were just created so that royalty and the wealthy could flaunt their exotic animals to the public (Leolupus). Today, with species threatened and habitats disappearing worldwide, zoos are serving a new purpose other than the mere exhibition of animals – conservation. (Fravel). When you think of a zoo, you either think of a fun, entertaining place that provides close-up and exciting exhibits of wild animals that you would otherwise never get the chance to see, or a place where people keep suffering, unhappy animals captive just for entertainment and display. However, despite whichever view you hold, and despite the stereotypes, some zoos have evolved to serve alternative and helpful purposes. Although some zoos face controversy due to allegations such as lack of space and quality care, neglect, and cruelty, some zoos have programs specifically designed to help and protect animal species. For example, these zoos have programs that help such conservation efforts as breeding.
“It is estimated to be 50 times more expensive to keep an elephant in a zoo than to protect sufficient natural habitat to sustain that elephant and many other animals.” (CAPS, Sad Eyes & Empty Lives- The reality of zoos) Indeed, only if the billions of dollars that spent on building a zoo are optimized to preserve habitats and animal welfare, can our grandchildren still have a chance to see more rare animals by their own eyes.
Over the years, the role of the zoo has changed dramatically, starting thousands of years ago as a display of wealth and power, morphing into places for entertainment, then education, and now incorporating aspects of conservation as well (“History”). What their priorities should be is something that is up for debate however. Do the animals take precedence over the visitors? Should the main objective of the zoo be to entertain and educate the public, or support and fund as many conservation projects as possible? Much has been written on the subject, and depending on who is asked, the answer may be very different.
Zoos as we know them have existed for centuries. They provide entertainment and educational opportunities for both children and adults. Zoos also encourage people to get outside and learn more about the world and the animals in it. They provide opportunities for research and conservation programs that would not happen otherwise. For my Formal Report, I propose that the Bryan and College Station city councils should join together and build a zoo.
This brings us to the second reason for keeping zoos. They play an important role in education. More than one tenth of the human race visits zoos every year to see living animals. Such a wide and varied audience provides an excellent opportunity for education. "
Most of us have had the opportunity to visit a zoo before, whether it be in your home town, out of state, or maybe even out of the country. Well I think a lot of us may look at visiting a zoo simply as something fun to do with your family or friends, but today I would like to inform everyone on the other benefits of having these zoo’s. The main focus of Zoos are to help endangered animals, provide animal research, and educate the public about the animals living there. Some may disagree, but there is more to zoos than having them on display for viewer’s entertainment.
An intruder enters someone’s house, the intruder kidnaps them, rips them from their family and jails them for life. Zoos should be banned because they do not have the right to kidnap the animals and jail them for life even if they are endangered. Stealing the animals from their home for our entertainment, shameful. The crazy thing is we are so entertained by it so much they make $175 million a year (1). The animals and people are equal none have less of an importance we are both living beings.